Middleton Falls
by The Real Sidekick
Summary: Three years after the Civil war has ended, one man refuses to let go of what he's lost and pursues the man responsible for all the pain in his life. Leave a review and get a response. COMPLETE.
1. Alone in the Mountains

They say that winter in the Sierra Nevada Mountains can be hard. What they don't say is how hard it can be. Where some spots find it abnormal to have anything more than an inch of snow, other locations hardly bat an eye at five feet of snow falling in one night.

The snow had started falling a few hours ago and had just passed one and a half feet and while many animals listened to instinct and stayed in their dens, one animal, an American Black Bear, ignored said instinct and trudged slowly through the cold.

As the animal continued to traipse through the snow, it came across a clearing and stopped as it observed a strange sight before him. A man sat perched over a fire, trying desperately to gain some warmth back in his hands and he groaned in pleasure and pain as feeling returned to his extremities. The bear observed this scene with silence, contemplating if this strange creature with hair the color of the sun was worth eating.

He was wearing a deer hide jacket that had seen too many summers and was starting to show its age. Under his jacket, he wore an old and faded striped brown shirt that smelled of alcohol and blood. The man's pants were a rich navy blue, the only piece of clothing that the man seemed to show any care for. Around his neck, like some award hung a ratty and dirty scarf that was a deep red. Around his waste was slung an old and well-worn leather belt that carried the man's pistol. The bear had no idea what a pistol was, but it recognized the scent of the oil and knew from experience that the piece of metal was bad. However, the pistol was upstaged by the enormous bowie knife strapped to the man's chest. With a blade length of nine inches and a worn hand grip of at least six inches, the bear knew that this piece of metal could prove dangerous if put in the right hands. The man seemed to not focus at all on his surrounding as he was hunched over a fire, desperately trying to steal the warmth from the flames in addition to cooking a rabbit over the flames. His sun blonde hair was loosely arrayed on his head and his beard made only to convey his seemingly savage appearance.

Taking a hesitant step forward, the bare stepped on a twig, snapping it and causing the man to instantly come to attention, a hand drawing that enormous bowie knife he had strapped to his chest.

Seeing the bear quietly observing him, the man grinned slightly and sheathed his knife, "Relax dear friend, I mean you no harm," the man said to his companion.

The bear did not understand a word of what the man said, but his tone indicated submission to the bear and the bear growled affectionately.

"I don't know if you're supposed to be out here at this time," the man said in the same tone, only this time he blanketed it in warmth and friendship. As if he were talking to a close friend, "Spring isn't for another few months and I saw more than a few bear traps on my way here."

Not understanding the human's words, the bear took another step toward the man, all senses on alert. While the man seemed nice enough, the bear did not take any chances. He had not lived this long to be fooled by some sweet-talking human that looked strong enough to fight.

The bear took another step forward, listening and sniffing the air for any sign of danger. The snow made bear even more alert as a number of predators disguised themselves in the winter months to better catch their prey.

With the snowfall, the area was blanketed, not only in the pure white of the snow, but also in the silence. The snow effectively destroyed all sense of sound beyond one hundred feet, but not his sense of smell. If anything, the bear's sense of smell was enhanced by the cold and he stopped as he smelled something he had not smelled before.

In a flash, the bear's instincts took over and not caring about the noise he made, turned and ran back to its den.

The man shrugged at the bear's sudden departure and went back to his meal. Poking at the bits of meat and gristle of the freshly caught rabbit, the man took his outer jacket off to let it dry over the fire that he had been able to raise to a decently sized fire. Taking off his pistol, he laid it with his supplies and turned back to the rabbit.

Silence descended on the forest and the man's senses suddenly became alert at the lack of noise. Something was not right, he just couldn't place it.

**BOOM!**

The man spun around as the bullet caught him in the left shoulder and spun him around face first into the snow. By some act of God…or Satan, the bullet missed the man's heart and instead caught him in his shoulder, instantly deadening all movement associated with the arm. Not bothering to gather his things, the man pushed himself up with his good arm and sprinted into the cover of the trees.

The sound of the man's escape quickly faded as silence quickly descended back onto the clearing. Slowly out of the tree line, a string of men on horseback rode in. Stopping by the fire, they all looked around for any trace of the man. Not seeing any sign save the tracks leading deeper into the woods, the men all descended from their horses and took in the campsite on foot.

Two men, who could have passed for brothers, picked through the left behind items and whatever they did not like was tossed into the snow. A third man looked around and pulled the rabbit out of the fire and blowing on the cooked animal to cool it down, took a bite and slowly chewed the dead critter. The leader of the group who wore a bearskin as a coat stood looking at the tracks and blood trail of the shot man that vanished into the wood, lost in thought. Slowly, the fifth man limped up behind him and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Anything boss?" he asked the bearskin clad man.

Nodding slowly, the man turned to his friend and said emotionlessly, "Yeah, he's wounded and he's heading that way."

"I don't understand boss," the man asked in confusion, "Why didn't you let me kill him? I mean, he was out there in the open and everything," he paused as he struggled to see the reason, "Josh is going to know we're coming.

The man lowered his head and closed his eyes as he struggled to push dark memories away. Raising his head slowly, he gave an almost imperceptible smile. "Good," Ron Stoppable said, "very good."

* * *

Josh Mankey struggled through the two-foot high snowdrifts, all the while clutching his left shoulder in pain. Gasping he took a hand off the bullet hole and instantly regretted it as he saw the bullet lodged in the meaty portion of his shoulder. Thinking quickly, he tried pulling the bullet out with his bare hands but nearly passed out from the pain as he reached into the wound. 

Dropping to his knees, Josh ignored the blood dropping into the snow and grabbed at the snow and ice surrounding him. Jamming it into the wound, he stifled screaming in pain as the snow and ice dulled the pain in his arm by turning the arm numb from the cold.

God, why did not he remember any of the medical training that he'd received in the army? Well, he'd been a Commanding Officer, but still working around those surgeons and half the time they were too drunk to know what they were doing during the surgeries. Josh had seen many of his best soldiers lose entire limbs over something as small as a bullet nick and now he had a real disdain for doctors. Looking at his shoulder and the melting water he had just shoved in his wound, Josh suddenly remembered that the doctor had been drunk while explaining the procedure for treating a gunshot wound. At that memory, Josh started brushing the snow out of the bullet wound and grabbed at his sash draped around his neck that had somehow remained on during the escape. Why he had forgotten about it before now was beyond him, all that mattered was getting the blood to stop. Taking the scarf from his neck, Josh jammed it above his wound and stifled the pain that welled up from his shoulder.

Hearing the men raid his camp, Josh fought through his pain and stood groggily to his feet. Stumbling through the forest, Josh came upon another clearing and immediately started to sprint towards another path in the woods. He slowed to a jog and turned at several different trees before ending up exactly where he wanted to end up: back at the clearing. Smiling at the one trail leading in one direction, he sprinted across the clearing towards a different path and laughed laboriously as he entered the clearing a third time. His plan was coming together.

* * *

"Jim, Tim quit going through Josh's things," Ron ordered as he turned back to the campsite, "he didn't have anything of value for you to steal." 

"Really?" Jim, the older of the two brothers asked with an eyebrow raised, "because-"

"We found this among his items," Tim finished happily as he held up Josh's pistol for Ron's examination, "I think this classifies as 'something of value'."

Ron snatched the pistol from their hands and checked the chamber, _six shots;_ he thought _that's five more than I'll need._

"Boss?" the man eating the rabbit and perched precariously over the fire asked, "shouldn't we be going after him now?"

Ron let out a sigh, "What Eric? You finish the rabbit and you just want out of the cold? Is that it?"

Eric thought that over for a few moments before answering, "Yeah, something like that," Eric pulled his deer skin cloak around him tight, "It's cold, the rabbit was too well done for my liking and my toes are starting to go numb. I can't even imagine what the cripple must be going through-"

"For your information Eric," the final man limped into the conversation, "I have a name. One that you've never used."

Eric answered without missing a beat, "and yet you still respond to 'Gimp'. Honestly Gimpy, I don't see any reason to change."

The cripple's gun was out faster than anyone could move and his hand hovered dangerously close to the gun's hammer. Eric had made a move for his pistol as well, but seeing the pistol pointed at his head nodded slowly and put his hands back in his lap.

"My name is Felix Renton and if you call me anything else I swear I will leave your body to rot out here," Felix threatened, "Are we clear?"

Ron strode confidently into the center of the confrontation while twirling Josh's pistol. Felix twirled his pistol quickly and set it in the holster strapped to his side.

"This bickering will get us nowhere. We will pursue him now and kill him swiftly," Ron said as he continued to twirl the gun, gauging its weight, and their reactions.

"Ron," Felix said as he eyed Eric angrily, "why wouldn't you let me make the shot? He was sitting there and everything."

"I know-," Jim said.

"-He was out in the open," Tim finished.

Ron shrugged and twirled the gun into an empty holster on his side, "I'm going to be the one to kill him. No one get's paid if he dies naturally or by one of your bullets. I alone," he turned in the clearing until he had made contact with everyone's eyes, "I alone will be the one to kill him."

"But after what he did Ron…" Felix started but upon seeing Ron's glare trailed off into silence.

"I. Alone. Kill. Him. Understood?" Ron asked.

"Meh," Eric belched softly and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, "makes no difference to me. I'm getting paid sixty dollars for this chase. Why should I care if I don't kill him?"

"Anyone else need to say anything?" Ron said to the rest of the group.

Silence.

"Good. Let's go."

* * *

Following the trail left by Josh on foot, Jim hardly had time to truly appreciate the beauty of the surrounding forest and instead focused on the trail and his memories. He had been approached for this job specifically by Ron and when he heard about what it entailed, he and Tim had signed on without any hesitation. The soul reason being what Josh Mankey had done to his sister. He still remembered that humid summer day three years ago- 

"Jim? Find anything?" Ron's voice jarred him out of his reminiscing and he nodded to the rest of the group.

"The trail goes this way," Jim pointed towards a clearing just beyond a group of trees, "towards that clearing over there."

He walked back to the horse that Tim was guiding and hopped on, "We won't be able to tell where he went until we enter the clearing."

Eric leaned back in his saddle and tilted his hat back on his head, "Could be a trap Ron."

Ron turned around in his saddle to face Eric, "Scared Lipsky?"

Eric shook his head, "No boss. It's just that this captain eluded an entire squad of our soldiers for three weeks before making it back to his regiment."

"If I remember correctly, that screw up was more your fault than anyone else's," Ron reminded Eric before adding, "Besides," he spat into the snow, "Felix hit him in the shoulder with that shot. Survival is the only thing on his mind right now. Let's go."

He kicked his boots into the side of his horse and eased his mount into the clearing before staring in horror at Josh's trick. Dismounting, Ron patted his horse on the side of the neck and stared at the four separate trails leading off into the wood in different directions. Josh for the fun of it, Josh had also scattered a few blood droplets at the entrance of each trail to throw off which trail he ultimately chose.

"Jim?" Ron asked but all he got was a shrug from their tracker.

Thinking slowly, Ron slowly came up with a plan, "All right here's what we do," He grabbed his horse's reigns and secured them to a tree, and as everyone followed suit, Ron assigned jobs. "Jim, you take the right path. Eric the next one over, Tim the next one. I'll take the final path," Ron checked his gun and slowly started towards his path, "Remember, if you see him, shoot to wound. No one gets paid if he dies. If you see him and he gets away, send up a warning shot and we'll be at your position in less than two minutes."

"What about me boss?" Felix asked as everyone loaded their weapons, he already knew what the answer would be, but he had to ask.

Ron tapped Felix's leg lightly and the sound of his wooden leg echoed lightly around the clearing, "I need you to stay here and guard the horses. If Josh doubles back and tries to steal our horses, I need someone to keep him at bay."

Felix nodded. In all actuality, Ron knew that Felix would just slow them down and was trying to phrase it in such a way that Felix's feelings were not hurt. It didn't work and Ron saw the sadness in Felix's eyes at being left behind.

Turning and striding towards his path Ron gave one final command, "Walk down your path for five minutes and if it does end, come back here and wait with Felix. If it doesn't, wait and we'll come to you. Understand?"

Getting confirming nods from everyone, Ron pulled his pistol out of its holster and advanced down the path created by Josh.

* * *

"Sweet Jesus it's cold out here," Jim hissed as he blew on his hands. He'd been walking down the trail for a few minutes and even with the gloves that Ron had provided, he was still freezing his extremities off and he didn't like it one bit. 

As he trudged through the snow, Jim's mind kept wandering back to warmer places and memories, but every time he tried remembering Middleton, the day and it's horrific actions played out in his mind and he would have to stop and breathe deeply to rid himself of the waking nightmare.

_September 27__th__ 1886,_ he thought sadly, _let's see, today is...November 18__th__ 1889. Over three years since…_

James instantly snapped to attention as a spot of red in the snow grabbed his attention. Stooping over the red, James scooped it up in his hand and dabbed at it quickly with his tongue.

_Blood,_ he thought with glee as he spat out the coppery taste from his mouth. He had chosen the right trail and while Ron had said to only wound Josh, if given the chance, James, "Jim" Possible would blow Josh's head clean off. If he weren't paid, so what, at least he'd have his revenge.

Jim rose to his feet and stalked through the woods, following the trail left by Josh. A twig snapped nearby and James instantly had his gun drawn and was aiming it to where, he guessed, the sound came from. Looking around and peering cautiously through the still falling snow, James failed to see anyone or anything that had made the noise.

Still following the trail through the snow, Jim holstered his gun while he stopped to catch his breath under a tree and peered in confusion as he saw the trail continue deeper into the forest. What confused him was the bark shavings that he was standing in and the collection of blood in the snow. Leaning against the tree for support, Jim heard a tiny_plip_ to his right and he snapped to attention as he drew his gun again.

_Plip_

A light sounding sound, almost like a raindrop falling, this time the sound came from his left. James dove into the snow and aimed his gun to where the noise came from.

Nothing but the falling snow amidst the trees.

Jim held his breath for a few moments and waited as the forest quieted down and the silence descended on him.

_Plip_

This time right behind him. James rolled onto his back and as he turned noticed something glinting on his shoulder amidst the snow, a red glint. Reaching out a gloved hand, Jim dabbed at the speck on his shoulder and peered at the red that had mysteriously appeared on his shoulder. Checking his other shoulder, James found the same red and sniffing it cautiously, found the liquid in question to be-

"Blood?" he asked in confusion as the puzzle suddenly dawned on him.

_Plip_

A drop of red suddenly appeared on the snow amidst the scraped bark directly in front of him. The blood had fallen from within the tree.

Coming to his feet and walking to the base of the tree James craned his head back to see what was dropping blood. Looking up into the tree James was rewarded only with an obscured view of the sky. Nothing more, just a mess of branches and-

_Plip_

Jim wiped at his face as another drop of blood fell directly onto his forehead and splattered. Wiping away the blood, James looked up a final time. Snowfall, some sunlight, the mess of branches that glinted…

James' eyes widened before relaxing at the trap he had walked into "Oh you damn son of a-".

From twenty feet above the ground, Josh Mankey sighted down his large bowie knife's edge and let go.

James never had time to call out for help as the blade fell from above and entered his forehead, instantly killing him and Jim fell to his knees amidst the snow.

* * *

Josh quickly scrambled down the tree and knelt over the body of his once good friend, Jim Possible. Removing the knife from his head and wiping it on Jim's pants, Josh removed Jim's coat and threw it over his shivering form. A perfect fit, even after all these years, Josh and Jim still fit the same clothes. Something that they'd found out in the army, now the random skill was helping Josh survive. 

"I'm sorry my friend," Josh whispered, not sure how many were close by, "but I have to do this for my own survival."

When Josh had served in the war, one of his men had been an old Indian warrior who taught Josh that the dead still had purpose in life.

"A body does not go cold for roughly an hour after death," the warrior had explained while he and Josh had hunkered down behind a wall in Vicksburg, "if you find a body during before it is one hour old, you can use it for heat. Simply make a cut, plunge your hands into their body and warm yourself."

While Josh and the rest of his men had been initially repulsed at the notion of desecrating a body like that, he now saw no other way. It was either do the Indian trick, or lose his fingers to frostbite.

Gagging at what he was doing, Josh pulled out his enormous Bowie knife one last time and made a tiny incision down the front of Jim's chest and after a few seconds of internal debate, plunged his hands into Jim Possible's body.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible or any thing else belonging to Disney. 

**Author's Notes:** In case you didn't notice, I did have to make a few changes to accommodate this story. Felix walking, Eric up, and moving are two immediate examples. There will be a few more changes but it's the only way that I could write this story. As with all my other stories, leave a review and you will receive a response.

This is also my entry to Mace Ecam's A Challenge To All Kim Possible Fanfiction Writers forum. Hope you enjoy.


	2. Running

"Heya Gimp," Eric smirked as he returned to the clearing, "How's the leg treating you?"

Felix said nothing but idly fingered the gun attached to his hip and eyed the man in front of him with disdain. Out of the group that had entered the separate trails, Eric was the first to return.

"Nothing to say, eh?" Eric smiled, "It's all right, you can hate me all you want."

"I don't hate you Eric," Felix said, "No, I don't hate those who are inferior to me. I just treat them the way they need to be treated."

Eric chuckled and patted Felix on the leg, "I can live with that."

"Dead end on your trail?" Tim asked as he exited his trail.

"It was a big loop," Eric nodded as he blew on his hands, "You seen Ron or Jim?"

"Nah," Tim shook his head, "You find anything interesting?"

"Well, first I walked down the trail but upon discovering it was a giant loop, proceeded to come back here where I had a stimulating conversation with our resident Gimp," Eric explained, "Then you came back and that brings me to right now."

"I take it you three didn't find anything," Ron's voice sounded strangely flat upon entering the clearing. 

"Nothing," Tim said.

"Same here," Eric confirmed.

"All right, so that means Jim chose the right trail," Ron said to himself. He was quiet for a few seconds as he contemplated what he should do next.

Felix grabbed the reigns to the horses and passed them out to the individuals they belonged to as Ron came up with his new plan. "We're going to ride down the trail Jim took and meet up with him down the way. Josh shouldn't be too far out."

With a surprising amount of grace for someone wearing an enormous fur coat, Ron hopped onto his horse and headed off down the path. The rest of his crew mounted up and followed slowly behind their leader.

* * *

Ron's horse neighed softly as the snow continued to fall and Ron patted his mount softly on the neck, "Easy Rufus," he whispered his horse's ear, "we don't want to scare Jim."

Rufus neighed back affectionately and Ron patted Rufus again while wearing a smile. The smile quickly died on his lips as he rounded the corner and took in the scene in front of him. 

Jim lay on his back in the middle of the trail, his arms at his sides and an enormous bloody slit where his eye should have been. 

"Damnit," Ron whispered as he looked at the dead body in front of him. Tracks surrounded the body and upon seeing the bark on the ground, Ron instantly knew what had happened. Dismounting, Ron sank to his calves in the snow and trudged over to the body of his friend and partner Jim. 

"Ron, why'd you stop right in the middle of the…" Felix trailed off as he saw the body of Jim Possible for all to see, "Oh."

"What's the…hold…up?" Tim asked as he too entered the clearing and saw his brother lying on the ground.

Letting loose a strangled cry, Tim flung himself to the ground and clutched at his brother's cold body. Tears of despair and rage poured from his eyes and he rocked Jim's lifeless body back and forth. 

Ron slowly walked around the body looking for any sign of what else Josh may have done. Suddenly it clicked for Ron and he could only think of one word to describe the situation, "Shit."

"What?" Eric asked as he hadn't seen Jim yet, "What is it?"

Ron ignored the question and turned on his heel towards Rufus. 

"Tim, we need to go. Now," Ron ordered tersely as he broke into a light jog. In one swift move, he pulled himself onto his horse and spurned Rufus through the clearing quickly, following Josh's blood trail through the snow. Tim didn't even notice and just sat there, cradling holding his brother. 

Felix and Eric followed, both looking at each other in shock at Ron's obvious callousness to the loss of Jim. Upon reaching the edge of the clearing, Ron turned around and looked at Tim still sitting there. 

"Tim! Let's go," Ron shouted across to the grieving brother. 

Something snapped in Tim and with a snarl he set his brother gently upon the ground. Turning around he drew his pistol and advanced on Ron, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted, "YOU KNEW THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! AND YOU DID NOTHING TO STOP IT!"

Ron didn't even bat an eyebrow at Tim's pistol and slowly dismounted off Rufus, "Yes, I thought this might happen, but I expected it more to happen to Eric."

Eric nodded slowly in agreement before realizing what he was agreeing with, "Hey!"

Ron ignored Eric and advanced on Tim whose gun was now shaking, "Josh Mankey killed your brother and what he did to Kim…" he trailed off as both of them remembered the painful memory, "What he has done to your entire family was and still is unforgivable. But I can help you Tim. We can take back what was taken from us," he took another step towards Tim, "We can take vengeance on the coward."

The gun wavered in Tim's hand, "Together Tim, you and I can make him pay. Right the wrong," Ron took another step forward. "But right now, Mankey has your brother's coat, his gun and enough food and supplies to make it to the plains. If he makes it there, we've all but lost him. Now is not the time to shoot me, no now is the time to be tracking Josh down to kill him," Ron extended a hand to Tim and asked, "Are you still with me?"

With a painful sigh, Tim lowered the weapon and nodded slowly, "Let's go make him pay."

Ron nodded with a smile and retreated back to his horse. As soon as he mounted Rufus, he started giving orders, "Tim, you and Eric ride ahead to scout for Josh. Felix and I will take care of the body here." 

The group nodded and went about their tasks. Tim started for his horse, but as he passed by his brother Tim closed the eyes and crossed the arms back over his chest. Giving one last look at his brother, he leaned down and whispered in Jim's ear, "Give the rest of the family my regards."

* * *

Josh was in bad shape. Even he knew this. His world was darkening and he was experiencing what many of his soldiers had referred to as tunnel vision. With his vision starting to narrow and a perpetual numbness in his arm, Josh knew that if he did not get help soon, he'd be dead. The scarf was not even worth keeping pressed against the wound to staunch the blood flow and he hardly felt it when it slipped from his shoulder. The sudden feeling of cold in the bullet hole jolted him back to his senses and looking around he realized that the scarf was more than twenty feet behind him.

Groaning, Josh stopped shuffling through the snow and trudged back to the scarf, the distance between him and the scarf growing with each footstep. Finally, he made it to the scarf and sank to his knees, heedless of the cold snow now seeping into his pants. He grabbed the scarf drunkenly with his good hand and stuffed it back over the bullet hole. 

Knowing that he had to keep moving, Josh slowly struggled to his feet, but nearly collapsed as he stood up. Grabbing a tree branch for support, Josh held on and shook his head to clear the stars that appeared in his eyes. Upon clearing them he looked over the tree branch and rubbed his eyes again to make sure he wasn't seeing things. 

Nope, what he saw was still there. Josh dropped to his knees again, only this time it was intentional. He pulled on the cold steel and with great effort, forced the metal jaws apart. Pulling on another branch, Josh prayed that he'd have enough strength to make this trap. Several minutes later the trap was set and Josh set the final touch. Setting his red scarf on the tree branch, Josh prayed that the plan would work. If it didn't…well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it. Taking a look behind him, Josh paused to hear something…anything. He thought he heard a bit of shouting but that quickly faded and the woods were quiet again. 

Turning on his heel in the snow, Josh slowly stumbled away from his trap, but after several feet, he turned and broke out into a run in a mad effort to outrun his pursuers who he imagined were getting closer by the minute.

* * *

_Clop Clop Clop_

_Ron didn't look at the approaching horses, instead he looked at the bale of hanging above him. Pulling on the rope, Ron helped his son ease the bale of hay into the barn and with a resounding boom, the bale landed on the floor. It was then that Ron looked away from his work in the barn and towards the approaching horses. The boy standing above him also stopped his work moving the enormous bales of hay into the loft and looked eyed the column of horses approaching the house with a bit of unease. _

"_Dad?" the boy asked with a slight tone of fear creeping into his voice._

"_Don't worry Jon," Ron said as he too tried to mask his fear. "I'll go see what these men want. You need to stay here and make sure the bales of hay are in order. Can you do that?"_

_Jon nodded and retreated back into the safety of the loft as Ron slowly made his way towards the men._

"Ron?" Felix asked, cutting off Ron from his memories. 

Ron shook himself and looked at Felix, "What is it?" 

Felix smiled, "You were there, weren't you?" he asked, more a statement than a question.

Ron nodded, "It was beautiful that day."

Felix shook his head, "No siree, it was too hot and humid that day for my liking."

Ron raised an eyebrow and eyed his best friend cautiously, "And I suppose you enjoy this freezing cold."

"Me?" Felix asked, "Heck no. I'd rather be in Dodge City with some cute thing dancing on my lap right now."

Ron chuckled, "Well, I thank you for taking a break from your busy schedule for this."

Felix instantly sobered up, "What he did to Kim was unspeakable and as such we need to do this."

"Ron," Eric's voice preceded his arrival, and it brought Felix and Ron back to alert.

Ron tapped Rufus lightly in the sides and his mount edged forward, "What is it?" he asked as Eric appeared in front of them.

Tim found something I think you need to see," Eric replied with a current of excitement pouring from it.

Ron looked at Felix and nodded silently, "Let's end this."

Felix nodded back, "Do lets."

* * *

Ron and Felix entered the area Tim and Eric were with apprehension. The trail had widened up and now instead of a close and claustrophobic trail, there was enough room for the four of them to ride abreast. Ron and Felix approached the two helpers he had paid for.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

Eric pointed towards Tim who was kneeling down in the snow, "You might want to ask Tim about that. But I think we've made a fairly big discovery."

Ron raised an eyebrow skeptically, "And what might that be."

"We have his trail again," Tim said with satisfaction in his voice.

"No decoy trails?" Ron asked suspiciously as the snow started to ease up.

"No, Josh even dropped his scarf on a branch as he passed this way," Tim reported as he pointed about fifteen feet down the trail, "You know that he wouldn't leave that lightly. He must be on his last legs."

Ron nodded distractedly and his thoughts jumped back to Kim as he looked at the scarlet scarf hanging on the tree branch, "Bring…" he paused as his voice cracked. He cleared his throat and tried again, "Bring it to me."

Tim nodded, not knowing why Ron was getting choked up. To him, it was an old and weathered scarf, but to Ron it must mean so much more. 

He approached the scarf with disregard to the trail. However as he approached the scarf, he looked down and noticed an awful lot of blood near the scarf. Josh must've dropped it here and bled for a while. 

Shaking off the thoughts, Tim grabbed the scarf by both hands and pulled it to him. He felt the scarf catch on part of the branch and jerked the scarf towards him. 

Ron saw Tim fumbling with the scarf and asked in a concerned voice, "What is it?"

"Nothing," came the frustrated reply from Tim, "It's just caught on something, that's all."

**Snap**

Tim gave the scarf one final pull and the scarf flew back into his hands. On the other side of the branch, the bear trap that Josh had rigged to be launched when the scarf was pulled also came with it and flew directly into Timothy Possible where it clamped into his rib cage before contracting and crushing Tim. 

To Ron it looked like Tim simply vanished. One second he had been standing there with the scarf in his hands, the next he was flung across the path with an enormous bear trap embedded in his chest. 

Without thinking, Ron jumped from Rufus' back and sprinted to the fallen Possible, Felix and Eric hot on his trail. Ron dropped to his knees next to Tim but upon seeing his brother-in-law like this rose to his feet and lurched away, trying desperately to keep his stomach down. 

Eric dropped to Tim's side and placed a hand lightly on his chest. Blood erupted explosively from Tim's mouth as he coughed and screamed in pain at the bear trap embedded in his torso. Eric jumped back in shock as Tim continued to scream in pain. 

Eric looked at Felix whose face showed pure shock and gone white, "What do we do?" Eric yelled.

Felix didn't answer so Eric grabbed Felix by the leg and asked again, "What do we do?"

"I…I…I," Felix stammered. Seeing dead bodies was nothing new to him, but this was a close friend and in many aspects, a brother.

**Boom**

A gunshot rang out and Tim's screaming stopped instantly, the echo fading in the mid-afternoon air. 

Both Felix and Eric turned to look at Ron who had his pistol out, the barrel still smoking and with out a word, he put the pistol back safely in its holster and pulled the scarlet scarf from Tim's hand. 

"We bury Tim and make camp here tonight," he ordered without a trace of emotion in his voice.

Eric and Felix nodded silently and stared at the body of Tim Possible in silence and despair.

Ron turned to leave but Eric called out, "Mister, who exactly are we tracking? I mean, he's taken out two of ours already and we've only had a glimpse of him. Is he part Injun or what?"

Ron didn't turn to answer but instead grabbed a tiny shovel off Rufus' back, "You don't want to know what Josh is," Ron answered before walking off the path to dig a grave.

* * *

Josh heard the gunshot ring out, but it was so faint that he felt that he could slow to a walk. His condition had only worsened with the loss of his scarf, but he was sure that the gunshot he just heard related to the trap he had set and he prayed for the dead man. Whoever it may be.

Josh craned his head to look over his shoulder to see if he was still being pursued. In doing so, he took his eyes off the path in front of him and tripped on a hidden branch. Josh fell to the ground, but kept falling. Thinking that he was dying or at least hallucinating, Josh closed his eyes and prayed for just a few more minutes here on Earth. 

However, he was not dying, instead he had fallen from the top of a hill and was slowly sliding down the slope. Josh opened his eyes as he picked up speed and tried to slow his decent when he saw where he was heading: A fast moving river. 

Josh stuck his good arm in the snow to stop himself, but it was to no avail and with a scream, Josh slid headlong into the river. The river instantly picked at his battered body and pulled him along. As he bounced off the river rocks and walls, Josh lost track of time and his location as the river beat him more than any man had ever done so before. 

Suddenly a boulder was in front of him and he had no way to avoid it. Bracing himself, Josh slammed into the rock with such force that he lost consciousness for a few moments.

_The barn and house were aflame and the occupants ran for cover-_

Josh came to and found himself still in the rapids. He felt his feet brush the bottom of the river but each time he tried to brace himself against the river bottom, he just kept moving.

Another rock lurched in front of him and he bounced against it sharply, eliciting a gasp of pain and inducing another wave of unconsciousness.

_The large fields of corn were ablaze and the animals had all been rounded up. The weight of the pistol in his hand felt good and seeing Ron on the ground in front of him gave him feelings of-_

He came to, this time in the midst of a calm stretch of the river. A dull roar echoed around him and looking down stream, all he saw was a sudden drop off.

Paddling weakly, Josh struggled to make it to a bank, but it was no use. Josh Mankey plunged over the top of a waterfall screaming and cursing as he fell over thirty feet into the water below. Upon hitting the water, Josh blacked out again and he knew nothing for a long time.

* * *

"Ring around the rosie," the little girls chanted, "Pockets full of posie-"

"AAAAUUUGGGGGHHHH!!" a man bellowed, instantly stopping the little girls mid-song. 

The little girls looked up at the waterfall that they were playing by and gasped as they saw a man shoot out over the top of the waterfall and land in the water with an enormous splash. 

By some cosmic coincidence, he floated directly towards the girls and washed up directly in front of them. The man opened his eyes for a second and extended an arm to them, but then collapsed.

Being little girls, they both did what anyone their age do: they ran screaming for their mother.

Tara Matthews stood hanging her laundry to dry when she heard her girls scream. Not play scream but the sound of pure unadulterated terror, the sound every parent fears. Tara dropped her clothes basket and sprinted towards the sound of the scream and ran into them as they came to find her.

Tara dropped to a knee and upon seeing that they weren't hurt, pulled them in for an embrace "Zita, Monique, you better have good reasons why you scared mommy like that," Tara kissed them both on top of the head, "Now why did you do that?"

Monique pointed towards the waterfall, "Mommy, there's a man in the water who just tried to grab Zita. But he fell asleep before he could do anything."

Tara nodded unbelieving and stood up to look at the waterfall. The majestic falls provided a natural barrier and constant water source to her home. Right now though, she wasn't looking at the view. Instead she looked to verify her daughter's story. A dark shape rested on the bank and she stopped as she saw the shape on the bank of the river stir. 

"Oh my God," she whispered, "There is a man in there."

"We know mom. TWWJS," Monique answered haughtily.

"Huh?" Tara asked and looked at her oldest daughter with a confused look.

Monique sighed, "That's what we just said."

Shaking her head, Tara started giving orders, "Zita, make a bed for our stranger by the fire place and then go boil some water. Monique, you're going to give me a hand hauling this man inside."

* * *

Josh slowly opened his eyes. The pain in his arm was incredible, even more so than the initial gunshot wound and the following hours. Looking around, he saw himself to be in a log cabin with a warm fire nearby. Looking up, he came face to face with a little girl who looked like she came from Mexico.

"Mommy," the little girl said with such innocence, "That scary man is awake."

"Thank you Zita," a voice said from his left. Josh looked over and found the source of the pain. A beautiful blonde haired woman was leaning over his shoulder and opening his bullet wound.

"You damn fool," she whispered to Josh, "You should've had this checked long ago."

"Wasn't…a …place to check it," Josh whispered back to the woman.

"Yeah, well, this next part is going to hurt and I'd rather not have you moving around," the woman explained as she removed a pair of glowing pliers from the fire place, "Zita, I need you to go play outside," the woman ordered. As Zita went outside, the woman looked over at her other daughter, "Monique, I need you to help our patient back to sleep, then go play with your sister outside. Don't come in, until I come out, understand?" 

"Yes Ma'am," Monique answered as she walked to Josh. "Sorry Mister," she said sheepishly right before she brought a rock down on Josh's forehead.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible or any thing else belonging to Disney. 

**Author's Notes:** In case you didn't notice, I did have to make a few changes to accommodate this story. Felix walking, Eric up, and moving are two immediate examples. There will be a few more changes but it's the only way that I could write this story. As with all my other stories, leave a review and you will receive a response. Special thanks to karenstern05. You miss, rock hardcore. 


	3. The Matthews Family

_Clop Clop Clop_

_It was hot. Hot and humid. The kind of humidity that made it feel like a warm, wet blanket was smothering you. Within five minutes of leaving the cool indoors, your uniform would be clinging to you like a second skin and you'd be breathing like a stuck pig. That was one of the many things Josh hated about South Carolina, another thing was the mosquitoes. If you weren't careful, there'd be no blood left in you for the Rebs to shoot out. When he'd lived in New York, there hadn't been any mosquitoes, just smog and businessmen. _

_However, the heat was the furthest thing from Josh's mind as he rode with his men. Their orders had said to travel to this secluded farm and Josh had jumped at this opportunity. However, he was now looking at the situation with despair as he'd already lost two men to heat stroke. _

"_Just down the road," Colonel Barkin had said. "Down the road and take a right. You'll want to bring in the whole Stoppable clan."_

"_Understood sir," Josh had answered and stood to his feet, ready to start the mission. _

_Barkin didn't return the salute and looked over the young officer staring back at him, "Captain Mankey, this mission involves no killing. You go in, burn it all to the ground and bring back the Stoppables for questioning. Understood?"_

_Josh nodded hesitantly and this time Barkin returned the salute, "You do this and God willing, you'll be getting back to New York before Winter. Now get going."_

_Josh replayed that scene through his mind again as another man in his unit slumped off his horse and landed on the ground with a dull thump._

"_Medic," Josh called out weakly as the heat sapped his energy away, "Medic!" he tried a bit louder this time and succeeded in getting his medic's attention. _

_Following Josh's gaze, the medic rushed to the fallen man's side, but upon examining him rolled the soldier off the road. Looking up the doctor shook his head. _

"_Heat Stroke got another one sir," his lieutenant, James Possible reported, "How much further do you intend to take this madness?"_

"_Jim," Josh replied with a cold glare, "We are going to follow our orders until they're accomplished."_

"_But sir-" James protested and grabbed Josh's arm as Josh rode away. Hard._

_Josh jerked his arm away, but it was no use. His officer had latched on and now a searing pain was radiating through his arm. _

_The pain grew and grew until Josh could stand it no longer. Letting loose a loud scream, Josh-_

-awoke kicking and thrashing about in a makeshift bed by a fireplace.

It was well after dark and the fire had burned down to coals. The coals that remained cast a warm glow over the interior of the cabin and reflected off the tiny eyes of a little girl who couldn't be more than four years old. She was just staring at Josh with curiosity radiating from her eyes. Even amidst the pain in his arm, Josh felt a horrendous pang of guilt at his past and he prayed that no harm would come to the girl.

Josh placed a hand on his wound and touched it gingerly. His arm felt like it was on fire and all he craved was water to put it out with. A soft glow rose behind the four year old and it was soon revealed to be the mysterious woman from earlier.

"Zita," the woman ordered, "Go fetch the fresh cloths. I put them out near the stable to soak."

Zita didn't say a word, but rose sleepily and went to fetch the cloths.

The woman disappeared for an instant but returned to his side in an instant with a cool glass of water. Tilting his head to drink the glass, she whispered softly in his ear, "You were out longer than expected. Monique wasn't supposed to hit you that hard, just long enough for me to pull the bullet out."

Josh didn't say anything but gulped at the water offered to him greedily. This was the first liquid that he had tasted in what felt like days and he couldn't get enough of it. After he had his fill, Josh pushed the cup away and lay back against the stones with a sigh.

With his good arm, Josh brushed a hand across his face and jerked in shock as he felt the smooth skin of his cheeks. Looking up at Tara with a questioning expression, all he got from her was a laugh.

"Yes," she answered as she pulled an old and worn mirror from a desk drawer, "I did shave you. Your beard was disgusting and I shaved it off you while you slept."

Josh looked at his cleanly shaven face and nodded imperceptibly, "Thank you," he whispered hoarsely.

Tara shrugged, "Anything for a Major in the army."

Josh shook his head, "No, I was a Captain."

"Sorry about that," Tara replied as Zita entered the cabin and gave her mother the set of cloths, "I guessed that you were a major. Yankee?"

Josh nodded hesitantly but couldn't tell Tara's reaction to it. Tara gave a look to Monique who was looking at Josh and Zita who had just entered. Catching Tara's look, they obediently returned to their beds.

"Sorry," Tara apologized, "They just get curious, and the only time we get to see anyone new is when we go into town."

"And where might that be?" Josh asked, a hint of excitement creeping in.

"Oh about fifteen miles that way," Tara pointed out a window and by the light of the moon Josh saw that she was pointing towards the mountains that he'd just escaped from.

Josh's shoulders sank; he'd gotten excited at the prospect of escaping into a town but now was going to have to keep moving.

"Mommy?" Monique entered the room again and sleepily asked, "Can Zita and I sleep in your bed?"

Tara nodded and the little girl stumbled into the other room. Josh waited until the girls were gone and asked, "Who's the father?"

Tara didn't bat an eye as she asked, "Of whom?"

The reply caught Josh off guard and he replied, "Umm…the oldest."

"An escaped slave," Tara replied as she started applying the cool cloths to Josh's arm, "I tried persuading him to stay, but he'd have none of it."

"And your youngest?"

"A Mexican farmer," Tara explained as she tightened the cloth on his arm, "He fixed the fence out behind the stables and I had no way to pay him. Monetarily that is." She said the last bit with a bit of regret in her voice and Josh caught the undertones of guilt in her voice.

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the two before Tara broke it with, "So what's your story?"

"Story?" Josh asked, trying to play dumb.

"Yes, story. Why are you out here?" Tara asked, "No one ever comes out here except trappers, traders, criminals, or missionaries. Given the fact that you fell off the waterfall, I'm going to venture a guess and say that you aren't a missionary."

Josh chuckled softly and nodded, "I'm no missionary. I was a Captain in the Union Army until I left for personal reasons-"

"Such as?" Tara interrupted as she inspected a cut along the top of Josh's eye.

"_Personal_ reasons," Josh replied in a tone suggesting to drop the subject.

Tara just smiled knowingly, "I don't suppose it has to do with anyone named Kim."

Josh recoiled in shock and looked Tara in the eye, "How did you know that name?"

"You talk in your sleep," she replied and went back to treating his wound.

Josh nodded cautiously, secretly wondering how much he'd said while unconscious, "Anyway, I'm just a trapper who slipped on a river bank and wound up here."

Josh hated lying to Tara, but it was necessary for her safety. The less she knew the better she'd be off.

Tara made one last touch up to Josh's bandage and nodded slowly, "All right, that's the last of it. If you don't need anything else, I'm going to go back to bed."

Josh watched the woman leave the room before letting out a sigh of relief. He looked around for anything he could take with him but instantly thought against it as she'd done so much just by taking him in.

He rolled onto his good side and hanging out to dry was the saddlebag that he had taken from Jim's body, the contents out on the kitchen table. Off to one side was a tiny pouch and when Josh leaned up and grasped it, he heard the metallic sound of metal clinking together. Opening the bag up, Josh gasped in surprise as over two hundred dollars in gold coins spilled onto the floor.

Making sure not to wake anyone, Josh scooped up the gold and put it back in its bag before tucking it away in his pocket.

* * *

"Sweet Mother of Jefferson Davis," Felix muttered as he pulled his cloak tighter against his body, "It's freezing out here."

He threw another log on the fire and watched as the sparks rose into the night sky. The trio were now camped near a pine tree below the snowline, the ground beneath surprisingly clear of any obstacles.

The burial of Tim and Jim had been quick and orderly and against Ron's previous statement of staying in the snow that night, they had moved out as soon as the dirt was back in place over the boys. They had journeyed in silence for the next few hours; even Eric hadn't said a word or teased Felix. All were lost in their thoughts concerning the two young Possible Twins. They had followed Josh's trail until it had gone into the river and after that, they traveled parallel to the river for as long as they could.

About an hour before dark, Ron had come to a halt and told the group to set up camp. Ron had gone to get dinner and Felix had been in charge of the fire. Eric was in charge of the horses and everyone had done their task admirably. Now they sat beneath the Pine Tree, Eric snoring softly, Ron lost in his thoughts and Felix freezing his butt off.

"Ron?" Felix asked his best friend.

"Yeah?" came the distant sounding reply.

"Look Ron, I know these two were your best friends and brothers in law, but is this worth it?" Felix asked, hoping to reason with Ron, "I mean we've lost two of our crew within the first encounter of Josh. Who knows what's next?"

Ron stared into the fire and shook his head, "Felix, this needs to be done. Josh's actions demand justice and we're God's instruments."

"But Ron, if we catch him, we'll be no better than Josh. Whoever pulls that trigger takes his curse upon them," Felix reasoned.

"A curse that I would gladly bear," Ron replied.

"Jesus Ron, listen to yourself," Felix said, "What would Kim say if she heard you talking like that?"

"What would she say?" Ron asked in shock as he turned to face his friend, "She'd say, 'Thank you Ron.' That's what she'd say Felix."

"That's a lie Ron," Felix spat into the fire, "You and I both know that. She'd tell you to stop and come home."

"But after all Josh did to her Felix-" Ron argued…begged.

"We've lost two more Possibles today Ron," Felix reasoned, "Please, let's go home."

"No," Ron said and he rolled over onto his side, signaling the end of the conversation, "Get some sleep, we'll be riding for a while tomorrow."

Felix opened his mouth to say something…anything, but couldn't find the words to. Ron had made up his mind and that was that.

* * *

A bright light shone on Josh's eyes and he opened them sleepily. The rising sun was reflecting off a hanging pan and shone directly into his eyes. Raising a hand to cover his eyes, Josh slowly sat up and looked around the cabin. In the corner was a table that had plates and a pitcher of water on it. Across from the table was a sink and counter that had the morning's chore list on it. A tiny half wall separated the main room from the dinging room and Josh guessed that the hidden room was the bedroom but he had no way of knowing for sure.

His eyes scanned the rest of the room and passed over the little girl who was sitting silently in front of him without noticing her presence. Sitting up slowly, he saw her react and Josh struggled not to show his surprise at her surprise arrival but he could tell she knew and a tiny smile crossed her face.

She held up a tiny hand and made it into the shape of a gun which she pointed at him and mouthed the word _Bang_ to Josh.

Josh clutched his shoulder in mock pain and slumped over at Zita's perfect shot. He stayed in that pose for several seconds before hearing a tiny giggle come from the little girl. Looking up hesitantly, he smiled a noise from the outside drew their attention.

Josh instantly clutched for his knife strapped to his chest only to find the knife missing. He looked around for a weapon but was unable to as Monique walked in carrying a pail of water.

"Ma says that you need to help out in the barn Zita," the girl ordered. She turned to Josh and apologized, "Sorry about Zita, she doesn't say much."

Josh shrugged and lay back down, basking in the warmth of the fireplace, "Makes no difference to me whether or not she talks. When someone needs to say something they'll say it."

Monique nodded and walked to a cupboard where she pulled out a set of plates and with a quiet grace, she set the table. Upon completing her chore, Monique pulled out a tiny piece or paper and started scribbling on it.

Noticing it, Josh gestured with his good arm, "What'cha doing there?"

Monique shoved it back in her dress and blushed, "Nothing," she mumbled.

Josh continued to hold out his hand expectantly, "What is it?"

Begrudgingly, the little girl pulled out the paper and handed it to Josh who examined it. Detailed on the paper was an elegant dress that would sell for several thousand dollars in Paris.

His eyebrows raised, Josh looked back at Monique, "You drew that?"

She nodded and took the paper back, "Yeah, but Mom says that designing dresses won't get you very far in life."

Josh shook his head and replied, "Monique, I know this woman named Hope in New York who was looking for a new dress design. I think this is just what she was looking for."

Her eyes lit up and she asked, "You think so?"

Josh nodded as Tara entered with a laughing Zita. Noticing Josh and Monique talking, Tara smiled kindly and remarked, "Well it's about time you woke up."

Josh groaned slightly and smiled, "What time is it?"

"A little bit after sunrise," she replied, "Now Monique, you need to put away that drawing then go with Zita to wash up and you," she pointed to Josh, "You need to hobble up here for breakfast."

As everyone went about their tasks, Tara pulled a loaf of bread out of a tiny drawer and removed some ham from a box in the wall.

Josh raised an eyebrow slightly at this and Tara remarked, "What? I paid for this with real money. We do sell material goods around here."

Josh held up a hand defensively and smiled good naturedly, "I didn't say anything."

Tara smiled back and swatted Josh on his good arm, "But you were thinking it."

Josh opened his mouth to speak but stopped as Zita and Monique entered the house and sat obediently at the table. Tara and Josh sat at opposite sides of the table and silence descended upon the table.

Tara looked at Josh expectantly, "Would you do the honors?"

Josh shrugged off handedly, "…sure, I guess." As he picked up his enormous bowie knife and started cutting into the loaf of bread.

Zita giggled and Monique touched Josh on the arm, "Mom means that she wants you to pray for the meal."

"Oooh," Josh replied, "Thanks." He cleared his throat and bowed his head but paused. He didn't know what to pray for and anything he said would tell about Ron and what he'd done so after a few seconds of deliberation he looked at Monique, "I don't know what to do. Can you pray?"

Zita giggled as Monique nodded, "Dear Jesus-"

"-Horses," the Spanish girl interrupted Monique.

Tara's head instantly snapped up, "Zita, just because we have a guest doesn't mean you get to goof off at the table."

"No mama," the little girl pointed to the water fall that Josh had fallen from, "horses."

Josh turned in his chair and felt his blood run cold. Ron, Felix and Eric were above the waterfall on their mounts. They looked for a way down and after several seconds of maneuvering, disappeared back into the forest.

Josh rose to his feet, knocking his chair over in a clatter, "How soon until they'll be here?"

Tara rose to her feet as well and looked at Josh, confusion clouding her features, "thirty minutes at least. Why?"

Josh didn't answer but instead started pulling all his stuff together, "I have to be gone before they get here. And I'm going to need a horse."

"Who are they Josh?" Tara asked as she silently motioned for Zita and Monique away from Josh. Zita ignored the order and ran to give Josh a hug, "Please don't go," the little girl cried as she hugged Josh's waist.

Monique pulled Zita away and the two disappeared into Tara's room as Tara put a hand on Josh's shoulder, "Who are they Josh?"

Josh stopped and looked her directly in the eye, "They're men coming to kill me. By taking me in, they're going to assume that you're in on it too."

"But that's crazy," Tara argued, anger rising in her voice, "Why are they trying to kill you?"

"_Personal_ reasons," Josh replied cryptically.

"Damn it Josh," Tara nearly screamed, "What did you do?"

"You don't want to know Tara," Josh explained before kissing her on the cheek, "If I make it out of this alive, I'll come back and tell you everything. But if they catch me here, they'll kill me, you, Zita and Monique along with burning down this entire farm."

Tara opened her mouth to say something but the shock was just too great. Josh looked on and tucked his knife back into its holster, "I will make it back."

Tara looked in his eyes and slowly nodded, "Take the black horse, we'll stall them as long as we can."

"Thank you," Josh said with sincerity before he opened the door to the cabin and grabbed a canteen of water. Slinging that over his shoulder, he gave one final look and started ridding away from the farm and onto the great plains of the American Midwest.

"What do you think?" Felix asked as he eyed the farm with Ron and Eric.

"We followed the river, this is the only place he could be gimp," Eric replied as he observed the farm and it's occupants going about their daily chores from their viewing point in the trees.

"We're going to have to go there and find out where Josh went anyway," Ron replied as he tapped Rufus gently in the sides.

Rufus broke into a trot and with a sense of urgency, the trio rode from the tree line before breaking out into a full gallop towards the farm.

* * *

Josh paused as he rode over the crest of yet another hill and looked back at the farm. He'd been riding hard for the last thirty minutes and so far he'd seen nothing to indicate that he was being followed. A cloud of dust was settling over her farm and he prayed to a higher power that she'd be fine. If he survived this he planned to come back here for a little bit longer than a one night stand.

As he looked forward, he saw nothing but open plains and sighed sadly, "Why is it that I cannot have a normal life Baxter?"

Only hearing the horse snort, Josh nodded his head, "You're right, the devil's not done with me yet."

* * *

"For the last time Miss Matthews," Ron said tiredly, "Which way did Captain Joshua Mankey go?"

"I don't know," Tara screamed as Eric's hand slapped her cheek again.

The trio had descended upon the farm like locusts and forced the family into the log cabin. From there Tara had been beaten in front of her children in an effort to make any of them talk. So far, nothing.

"We know that you're missing a horse," Felix shouted into Tara's face, "and that the tracks lead out to the plains. Is that where he went?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Tara screamed back as Eric slapped her again. Tara paused and clutched her bloodied cheek in pain, "Josh just said that he needed a horse. After that I don't know where he went."

"YOU'RE LYING TARA!" Ron shouted, "HE CAME HERE AND YOU FELT SORRY FOR HIM. SO YOU GAVE HIM A HORSE AND SENT HIM ON HIS WAY! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HE DID!" Ron yelled in Tara's face and she shook with fright. Not hearing an answer from her, he eyed her with disdain and shrugged, "Have it your way."

Looking at the two girls huddled next to each other, he gestured towards Monique, "Come here."

Tara's blood ran cold and she knew what was going to come next, "Please don't," she begged.

"If you don't give us any information, this will be your doing," Ron explained as Monique made her way to Ron. When she reached him, Ron slowly spun her around so that she was facing Eric, "This is my friend Mr. Lipsky. He's not a very nice man and he's very mean. Also, he's been very lonely on this trip and he will not be gentle. If you don't tell us what we want to know, he'll do to you what he did to your mother and even more."

Monique nodded and with a calmness not usually associated with someone her age, answered, "So be it. Mr. Mankey was a very nice man and I don't care what he did."

Ron nodded for Eric to start as Felix left the room, but upon seeing his departure, Ron called out, "Where you going?"

"To see if they have anything of value here," Felix called over his shoulder as he entered the girl's room. Seeing a tiny leather pouch that had been tossed upon the bed, Felix opened it up and gasped at the contents.

* * *

"Please don't" Tara sobbed as Ron held her back, "She's just a child."

"So were mine," Ron hissed in her ear, "That didn't stop Josh."

Eric looked at Ron expectantly who nodded, "Go ahead."

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible or any thing else belonging to Disney.

**Author's Notes:** In case you didn't notice, I did have to make a few changes to accommodate this story. Felix walking, Eric up and moving are two immediate examples. There will be a few more changes but it's the only way that I could write this story. Sorry for the darkness at the end of the chapter

As with all my other stories, leave a review and you will receive a response. Special thanks to Kwebs who is hooked, Mengsk who figured out the inspiration for this story and my ever faithful reviewer karenstern05. You all really made my day by reviewing and I wish you all the best in your writings.

Sorry for the late posting, this last week being the Fannies and the Fonnies, made for a very hectic week as I was presenting at both of them. I'm hoping to get back into my traditional once a week updates, but no promises.


	4. Please, Kill Me

"RON STOP!" Felix shouted as he hobbled back into the room, holding the leather bag that he had found in the girl's room.

Ron turned his head lazily towards Felix as he held Tara as Eric stopped with his pants halfway to the floor.

Felix limped into the room with surprising speed and threw the leather bag on the table where it landed with an audible clink. Ron let go of Tara and sticking his hand inside the bag, pulled out a piece of gold, and another, and another.

Looking up in surprise, he announced, "it's...it's Jim's gold."

Felix nodded in annoyance, "Yes, Ron it is," he shook his head and briefly made eye contact with Tara. Winking at her he continued, "It's clear that Josh stayed here the night, took a horse just before we got here and paid for it all with Jim's gold."

A silence descended upon the room, broken only by Tara's sniffling.

"Yes," a tiny voice behind Felix agreed, "The nice man came here last night and took our horse this morning."

Felix turned and looked down at Zita who stood, shaking from fear at what was happening in her house.

"Is that what happened?" Ron asked Monique.

"Yes," the eldest sister agreed, "he took our horse, paid for it and left."

"Fine," Ron rose to his feet and signaling Eric and Felix, left the cabin, stopping at the door to look back and nod, "Thank you for your help Ms. Matthews."

Tara looked back and snarled, "You think you're doing the right thing going after Josh, but all you're doing is hurting yourself. You're doing no better than whatever he did."

Ron shrugged off handedly and smiled, "Well, at least he'll pay for what he did."

With that, Ron turned and left the tiny cabin and disappeared from sight. Felix turned to Eric whose pants were still down and rolled his eyes, "Get your pants on and go outside to Ron."

"But Ron-" Eric protested.

"Now," Felix said with every amount of authority he could muster.

Eric looked into Felix's eyes and nodded slowly before heading out, "Well, hurry up."

Felix pulled out a tiny leather pouch from his pocket and gave placed it in Tara's hands.

"This should cover the next few months and will hopefully keep you from alerting the sheriff. Also I'll talk to Ron and make sure he leaves you a horse," he added with nervousness in his voice. Even though they were on the frontier, a Sheriff and his posse could still bring Ron in.

Tara looked at Felix and asked, "Why?"

Felix broke eye contact, embarrassed at her question and answered, "We need to make Josh pay."

"But he is paying," Tara emphasized, "He's paying for it every hour of every day."

Felix shook his head, "it's not good enough, and he needs to be killed."

Tara continued to gaze at Felix and slowly nodded, "then I'll never see you again."

Felix nodded back, "I always knew it was a one way trip. We've already lost two of our crew to Josh. I expect we'll all be dead in a few days."

"You don't have to do it Felix," Tara pleaded, "you always have a choice."

"Sorry," Felix said as he rose to his feet, "I'm in this until the bitter end."

Tara nodded slowly at Felix's decision as he turned on his wooden leg and left the house. As soon as he was gone, Tara sank out of her chair and grabbing her two girls, pulled them in for a hug as the sounds of Ron and his group disappeared into the distance.

"Mommy?" Monique sobbed.

"Shh, baby, Everything's Going to Be All Right," Tara assured as she too cried.

* * *

Josh adjusted his positioning on the saddle and groaned slightly as the pain in his arm flared again, only this time there was less pain and he had greater movement in his arm. Josh extended his arm again and grimaced as the pain tore its way through his body.

_So maybe it's not entirely healed,_ he thought to himself as he remembered a doctor's words to him.

"_Don't over work a wound, even if it's feeling better," the doctor had said to Josh as he pulled a piece of gravel that had been embedded in his cheek after a cannon blast had thrown debris at his group, "You run the risk of opening the wound again and making it even worse."_

Josh grimaced again as he put his arm back in the makeshift sling Tara had made for him and taking a swig from his canteen, resumed his journey on the endless plains.

The cool muddy pool glimmered amidst the rocks and shrugs and Josh found himself walking his horse towards the pool.

The canteen had run out about an hour ago and with the sun shining overhead, Josh reckoned that he had little more than an hour before heat stroke would claim him.

As Josh stumbled towards the water hole, memories long forgotten played through his mind.

* * *

_Josh rubbed at his arm where Jim had pinched a nerve and shot his first lieutant a look. _

"_You do that again and you'll be scrubbing potatoes until this war ends," he threatened. _

"_Which would be?" Jim asked unafraid._

"_If this mission goes as planned," Josh surmised as he rode along the path, "Christmas."_

"_All right," Jim smiled, "Where we going? If I can get back home to see Olivia before Christmas, I'll do anything."_

_Josh didn't smile but sighed deeply, "It involves Kim and Ron…"_

_Jim's mood instantly changed, "What about them?"_

"_They're suspected of being reb supporters and on top of that," Josh took a swig from his canteen, "On top of that, Intel believes that Ron led a surprise attack against one of our outposts."_

"_So what are our orders?" Jim asked hesitantly._

"_All we have to do is bring in the Stoppables," Josh explained, "The Stoppables are priority. Everything else needs to burn."_

"_But it took Ron three years to get that farm up and running," Jim pleaded._

"_I'm sorry Jim," Josh apologized, "I know that they're your family, but we have our orders. Now you can either come with us and help us complete the mission, or you can turn back." _

_Jim was silent for a few moments before kicking his horse in the sides and turning back the way they came. _

_Soldiers turned their heads to look at the retreating form of Jim as he passed. A fact not lost on Josh, "HEY," the soldiers snapped to attention, "Get back in line and stay sharp! We're here."_

_The tiny column of soldiers marched into the courtyard of the Stoppable Ranch and were greeted by Ron Stoppable._

"_What do you want Josh?" the farmer asked._

_Josh tipped his hat to Ron and shrugged sheepishly, "Ron, I've been given orders to take you in."_

_Ron smiled lazily as the door to the cabin opened and a man carrying a rifle stepped out. All the soldiers instantly trained their rifles on the man but Josh held up a hand, "Hold your fire."_

"_Ron?" the man asked as he strode confidently towards the company that had put away their weapons, "What's going on?"_

_Ron smiled to the man and patted the man on the shoulder, "Easy Felix. They're just here to take me away."_

"_Well," Josh rubbed his neck sheepishly, "You and Kim."_

"_You honestly think you can take me in Josh?" a female voice echoed from the house._

"_Why don't you come on out to talk Kim?" Josh asked, "You cooperate and I won't be forced to burn down the little homestead you and Ron built."_

_Silence reigned over everyone present and everyone could feel the tension building as Kim contemplated her options. _

_As Josh raised a hand to signal troops to enter the house, the door opened and a beautiful red haired woman exited the house._

* * *

"HEY MISTER!" a voice cut through Josh's wanderings and he looked up surprised. He was standing in front of the pool with Baxter and across the pond sat a boy no older than fifteen.

The boy wore an old faded pair of brown trousers with a mottled green shirt. His olive skin and brown eyes led Josh to believe the boy was from Mexico and his near black hair confirmed it.

"Do you own this pool?" Josh asked as he eyed the pool and its contents greedily.

"That's right Mister I do," the boy nodded, "And if you want any, you'll have to trade me something for it."

"Like what?" Josh asked as he sized the boy up.

"I like your horse," the boy replied nonchalantly, "Give me the horse and I'll let you take all the water you want."

Josh thought for a moment and knew what he had to do, "You drive a hard bargain Mr…?" he asked.

"Gil," the boy answered, "My name is Gil."

Josh shook his head, "Find Gil. I'll trade you Baxter for your water." Josh took his saddlebag off the side of Baxter and slung them over his shoulder before pushing the horse towards the boy.

Kneeling, Josh placed the canteen in the water and filled the jar to the brim. After drinking his fill, Josh stood to his feet and without saying a word to Gil, strode off into the wasteland.

* * *

Across the deserted plains, a trio of horses galloped at full speed in escape. Behind them lay a town in ruins, the buildings still burning with a green fire. As the trio approached a hill, they slowed to a trot and disappeared from view

"Shego," the blue man called out over the trotting horses, "This is our greatest score ever."

Shego turned in her saddle to look at her employer while ducking a branch, "Of course it is Drakken, I came up with the plan after all."

Drakken muttered something under his breath about lippy sidekick but turned to the man riding behind him, "Ed, how you doing?"

"Oh just fine 'Cuz," Ed remarked, "Just make sure that the gold isn't melted by Shego up there."

"What's the matter Eddie?" Shego called out sarcastically, "Afraid that you won't get your part of the score?"

"No one will get anything if you melt it all," Ed replied, "I'm almost done with my steam powered cross country carriage and if you burn up all the gold, there won't be anything left."

"Ed, relax," Drakken assured as the group entered a clearing, "The flame jets are designed to go off only if Shego wants them to. No worries."

"All right 'Cuz," Motor Ed nodded before trailing off, "We're not alone."

Shego nodded, "I know, I've been following his movements for the last three minutes," a tiny jet of flame appeared in the palm of her right hand, and her pistol appearing in the left, "One man, and from the looks of it, he's got a bad arm."

Drakken looked around in confusion, "Where?" he asked as Josh Mankey stumbled into the same clearing.

* * *

"_Felix put the gun down," Josh ordered as Felix leveled his rifle at Josh. _

_A dozen guns instantly focused on Felix as Kim stepped out of the house and onto the porch. Felix sighted down the gun and pulled back the hammer, "You're not taking Ron or Kim," Felix said simply._

_A hand covered the muzzle of the rifle and Felix begrudgingly lowered the gun as Kim said, "It's all right Felix, Ron and I can take care of ourselves."_

_Josh holstered his pistol and the men around him followed suit. "Thank you," Josh nodded from the top of his horse. Pulling out a document from his pocket, Josh read, "Ron and Kimberly Stoppable, you are under arrest for assisting members of the Confederate Army and harboring known fugitives of the law."_

"_No we didn't," Felix argued defiantly._

_Josh didn't say anything but instead pulled out his pistol and shot Felix in the kneecap without looking. Felix clutched his leg as he screamed in pain as he fell to the ground and Ron dove to catch his friend. _

"_MANKEY," Ron yelled as blood poured from the wound._

"_He should've kept his mouth shut," Josh replied as he holstered his pistol again. _

_Kim ripped open the cloth surrounding Felix's wound and upon examination shook her head, "Felix you're going to lose everything below the knee if we don't operate." Looking at Josh, she pleaded, "Please, we need to treat him."_

"_Our doctors will treat him back at the camp," Josh said without emotion as his men began to light torches, "Doctor Bortle."_

_A short squat man in a wagon ran up to Josh and asked, "Sir?"_

"_Take Felix and put him in your wagon," turning to the rest of his men, "The rest of you…" Josh thought for a moment, "Burn it all."_

* * *

**WHIZ**

Josh ducked instinctively as a bullet whizzed past his head and splattered against a tree behind him.

"Well, that got your attention," Shego remarked as she holstered her pistol.

"I'm sorry, I was kinda out of it," Josh apologized as he walked past the group.

"What'cha doing out here?" Ed asked nervously as he fingered his weapon.

"Just walking, that's all," Josh replied wearily as he wiped some sweat from his brow.

"What's your name stranger?" Drakken asked as the trio surrounded him with their horses.

"It's not really that important," Josh replied, "You really don't want to know."

"Please," Shego smiled as she pulled out her pistol and placed it right between Josh's eyes, "I insist."

Josh sighed, "My name is Captain Joshua Wendell Mankey. Captain of the New York infantry division. And I'm guessing from the looks of it that you three are Shego, Dr. Drakken and his cousin, Motor Ed."

The gun in Shego's hand shook and Drakken looked visibly shaken at Josh's name. Without a word, Shego holstered her pistol and extended her palm towards Josh, the tiny jet of flame transforming into a ball of green fire.

"You responsible for what happened at Middleton Falls?" Shego hissed dangerously.

Josh's eyes narrowed and he nodded, "Yes'm."

The flaming ball grew larger, "Kim was mine and what you did…"

Josh cocked his head and peered at her before smiling knowingly, "So you're the one…" he paused for a second before dropping his saddlebags to the dusty ground and opening his arms, "Please, do it. Kill me. Kill me for what I've done."

The anger in Shego's eyes faltered but Josh continued, "Please, Kill me," Shego's palm shook and the ball of flame sputtered, "NO DON'T BACK OUT NOW! KILL ME! KILL ME!!"

The ball dissipated until it had reverted back to a tiny jet, "DON'T YOU DO IT YOU BITCH!" Josh screamed, "YOU'VE WANTED TO KILL ME EVER SINCE YOU HEARD ABOUT IT!! NOW DAMN YOU, KILL ME!!"

A tear fell from Shego's eye and the flame in her hand extinguished completely, "I…I can't…" she sputtered.

Josh grabbed her hand and slowly massaged it before placing it on her saddle, "Do you know why you can't kill me Shego?"

Shego shook her head as tears fell from her eyes, "Because the Devil isn't done with me yet."

Shego turned away and cried softly as Drakken broke his place in the circle and rode to her side. Placing a comforting arm on her shoulder, he called out to Ed, "Let's go."

"But 'Cuz," Ed started.

"NOW!" Drakken yelled, "Give Mankey his space."

Seeing his cousin's look, Ed slowly nodded and nudged his horse forward. With that, the trio rode off into the brush, leaving Josh all alone with his thoughts as he trudged towards the town they had just robbed.

* * *

"I don't like it," Ed murmured to the group as they rode on. Drakken had taken the reigns of Shego's horse and was guiding them back to their hideout.

"Edward," Drakken sighed, "Joshua Mankey is…"

"A monster," Shego finished. She held out her hand and Drakken gave her back the reigns.

"Look, I don't know what he did, but you both saw that apart from that knife, he had no weapon on him," Ed reasoned, "I can ride back there, shoot him and be back to the hideout in no time."

"That knife is all he needs," Shego explained as she wiped at her eyes, "Besides, he's probably hiding a gun somewhere."

"Well, he's seen our faces and knows the general way we went. We can't let him tell anyone about that," Ed argued.

Shego shook her head, "Ed, he won't say anything. If I know Josh as well as I do, the last thing he wants is to draw attention to himself."

Ed looked unconvinced, "And why's that?"

"Because he has the devil waiting before him and a pack of demons chasing him," Shego explained, "The last thing he wants is for someone to know who he is. He just told us so we wouldn't kill him."

Ed thought for a moment before kicking his horse sharply in the side and turning around, "I'll see you two back at the hideout," he called out over his shoulder as he rode from sight.

Drakken waited until he was out of earshot before saying, "That's the last we'll ever see of him."

Shego nodded silently as the dust settled on the trail. Turning to look at the midday sun, she kicked her horse gently in the side and together, Drakken and Shego rode away. Soon they were lost among the brush of the deserted plains.

* * *

Josh groaned as he heaved the saddlebags again, alternating the bags between his shoulders. Suddenly he stopped as he became aware that another rider was approaching him from behind.

"Mister," Ed called out and Josh's hand slowly fell to the knife on his chest.

"Please boy, let me be," Josh asked wearily.

"Sorry Josh, but you saw our faces," Ed replied, "Can't take the chance of you seeing where the three of us went off to."

Josh heard Ed pull the gun out of it's holster and cock it, "I've never wanted to shoot a man in the back so it'd be best if you turn around right now."

Josh shook his head and dropped his saddlebags, "Boy, if you've talked to Shego, you know that the last thing I want to do is draw attention."

"No matter," Ed replied as if he hadn't heard a thing, "I'll kill you just the same."

Josh sighed, "Please boy-"

Faster than the eye could follow, Josh spun around and let the knife fly. It entered 'Motor' Ed's throat just below the Adam's apple and was stopped only by the hilt. Ed looked down in surprise and tried to pull the knife out but stopped as death claimed him and slumped in the saddle before sliding off the saddle to the ground.

Josh approached Ed and pulled the knife from his neck, "I told you boy, 'let me be.'"

With that, Josh retrieved his saddlebags from the ground and draping them over Ed's horse, climbed aboard and rode off towards the town.

* * *

"Eric, what do you see?" Ron asked as he and Eric stood in a clearing.

"Looks like Josh was confronted by three other people in this same clearing about two hours ago," Eric reported.

"Which way did he go?" Felix asked.

Eric pointed, "Down that trail towards that smoke column," Eric paused and read the trail again, "Looks like the horses all went that way," he pointed down a trail in the brush, "but then one came back. No second set of return tracks."

Ron nodded and kicked his horse down the trail to follow Josh. Felix fixed his hat and waited for Eric to get on his horse and follow Ron before kicking his horse in the side and taking up the rear.

After twenty minutes of riding, Ron stopped suddenly as a bad smell suddenly appeared.

"Oh man Gimp," Eric gagged, "What is that?"

Felix shrugged, "Something died. But we won't know what until we move on."

Ron nodded and spurned Rufus forward around the bend in the trail. As he rounded the bend, he stopped and called out, "Felix, check this out."

Felix kicked his horse in the side and rounded the corner to find a large man dead on the ground. The area surrounding him splattered with blood, probably from the large knife wound in his neck.

Eric entered the stretch of the path where Ed's body lay and his eyes widened, "Looks like our boy Josh's handiwork." Peering at the dead body, Eric's eyes suddenly widened and he pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket.

Felix ignored him and rode up next to Ron who wasn't looking at the body. "What is it?" he asked his friend.

Ron gestured towards a town several miles away that was charred and smoking, "I think we need to check that town out next."

"And the body?" Felix asked.

"Oh you two can go on ahead?" Eric called out, causing both men to turn in their saddles.

Eric held out the piece of paper, "Edward Lipsky, my Uncle, Wanted for murder, theft, and reckless carriage driving. Will pay 250 dollars for his return. Dead or alive."

Looking up at Ron, Eric commented, "250 dollars is a lot more than you're paying us. So I'm just going to take him to that town over there and be on my way."

Ron sighed, "Are you sure about this Eric?"

Eric looked around confused, "Yeah, 250 dollars," he held out one hand, "compared to your pay. I think I'll go with 250 dollars."

Ron was silent for a few moments as Eric picked up Ed and hoisted him over his shoulders. Without saying a word, Ron nudged Rufus forward, away from Eric, "Fine Eric, have it your way."

Eric nodded and grunted in exertion, "Thanks Ron." Finally reaching his horse, Eric draped the body over the back of the horse and moved to get on.

**BOOM**

Eric's eyes widened and he looked for where the bullet struck him, but after several seconds, he realized that he was unharmed. His horse however lay on the ground, a single bullet hole between the eyes.

"R…Ron?" Eric asked in confusion.

Ron shrugged, "They're my horses. I can do to them as I please. Beside," Ron remarked, "I want you to work for that money."

Eric stood in shock as Ron rode away, leaving Felix and Eric alone on the trail. Eric looked at Felix, "Gimp? How 'bout a lift?"

Felix thought for a moment before shaking his head, "My name is Felix, not gimp asshole."

With that, Felix drew his gun and shot Eric through the forehead. Riding over to the now dead body of Eric Lipsky, Felix cocked the gun and shot Eric an additional three times in the chest.

"Burn in hell Lipsky…burn in hell."

Felix then turned his horse around and rode to catch up with Ron, leaving the two bodies to rest on the trail.

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible or any thing else belonging to Disney.

**Author's Notes:** All right, so I'm looking to have this story done sometime within the next two chapters with a final epilogue to wrap the story up for good. I must admit, while this is my least reviewed and least hit per chapter story, I actually like this one the best. I don't know, just seeing the characters in a new realm excites me. I guess not everyone enjoys it, but for those of you who do, thank you. Special thanks to Kwebs and RSfan for reviewing. It really makes my day to see those in my e-mail inbox. As always, leave a review and get a response.


	5. Middleton Falls

The smell of burnt wood alerted Josh to the town's condition long before he saw it. However, seeing and smelling are two different things entirely.

As Josh rode his newly acquired horse through the brush, the smell of smoke choked him and he gagged harder on the smoke with each passing minute. With a final smoke induced cough, Josh broke free of the smoke and gasped at the sheer destruction of the town before him.

Hanging crookedly from a single signpost waved a sign that read, _Go City._ Behind the sign, the town lay in ruins, the bank had been burned to the ground, only a pool of molten metal marked the final resting place of what could've been a safe. Behind that, the general store's front windows were smashed out and beyond that, the hotel was still aflame. Men carrying buckets ran up and tried to douse the flames but the water only made the flames burn hotter and spread quicker.

Josh shook his head as he remembered the flames of Shego, _Unable to be extinguished with water. _As he rode past the blaze, Josh leaned out of the saddle and called out to a man running, "Use dirt to put out the fire. It's the only thing that'll stop it."

The man paused before leaning down to pick up and throw a clod of dirt. Watching the dirt extinguish the flame, the man smiled and called out, "Thanks Mister." But Josh was gone, his lone figure already more than 30 feet away.

The man thought for a moment before snapping his fingers in a revelation, "Well I'll be a son of a gun…"

Leaving the fire fighting line, the man sprinted to the bar, one of the few structures unharmed. Inside a group of Military Officers peered over a map, "Which way do our scouts say they went?" one man asked.

"North East," A woman with an eye patch replied as she pointed to a section on the map that bordered a large desert.

"Dammnit," the man replied as he pulled out a flask of whiskey. Taking a sip, he set it back in his pocket and looked up, "They're in the badlands. And there's no way we can track them there."

The woman looked up, "I know that Will. I'm just trying to figure out how we can tell the town's folk that we won't be able to bring the criminals who did this to justice."

"DR. DIRECTOR!" the man shouted as he burst into the bar.

The woman looked up with frustration, "What is it now Cletus? We're a little busy here trying to find Dr. Drakken, Shego and 'Motor' Ed."

Cletus smiled broadly while breathing hard, "Dr. Director, I think I found something almost as good for you."

"It better be something I really want or you'll be pulling guard duty for months," Betty threatened, her single eye scrutinizing the private.

Cletus continued to smile, only now he added a bit of smugness to the smile, "How 'bout Josh Mankey?"

* * *

Josh rode through the town, taking in the burnt out husks of homes that had been occupied less than three hours ago.

"Seems fitting," a woman's voice called out to Josh and he turned to acknowledge the voice.

However, he was alone on the street, his only companion a wagon selling snake oil down the road with a woman at the helm. With an uncharacteristic grace, the woman dropped from the wagon and smiled knowingly at Josh, her aquamarine eyes smiling with a certain knowing. Slowly she started walking towards him with a certain, uncanny calmness.

Pushing a strand of loose brown hair from her eyes the woman gestured to the buildings around Josh, "Ashes to ashes…dust to dust. As you now see, soon you may become."

Josh shook his head and he looked around the smoldering buildings. Turning back to the woman, Josh's eyes widened as he saw she was gone, all trace of her was gone. Turning back to look at the abandoned and still smoldering town, Josh registered the shovel swinging at his head only after it had made contact and knocked him from his horse to the ground.

Then nothing.

* * *

Ron rode silently with Felix as they approached the town, the putrid smoke causing their lungs to burn and their horses to neigh in protest.

Ron eyed Felix out of the corner of his eye and placed a hand on his pistol cautiously, "You Ok Felix?"

Felix turned to Ron in surprise, "Of course Ron, why wouldn't I be?"

"Because Felix," Ron said as he glimpsed the town through a break in the smoke, "I heard four gunshots near Eric and then you rode up to me with a tiny smile on your face and haven't said a word since then."

"Sorry Ron," Felix apologized and took off his hat to tussle his plastered hair, "Old Eric saw some animal in the bush and I had to scare it off. You know…"

Felix trailed off as he spied Ron's disbelieving look, "Fine, I shot and killed him. Happy now?" he asked angrily.

"Makes no difference to me," Ron replied as he kicked Rufus gently in the sides, "the only reason I hired Eric is that he was a good tracker. Now that you killed him, well that guarantees that we won't have anyone talking about our mission. Plus you get his share of the money"

"You mean vendetta," Felix muttered under his breath as he passed a sign that read _Go City_, "And you know I never signed on for the money Ron.".

"Whatever," Ron replied angrily as he spurned Rufus away from Felix.

As the duo passed through the smoke, they were greeted with a burnt out husk of a town. And a mob wielding pitchforks and rifles.

Ron and Felix pulled their horses to a stop and called out loudly to the angry looking crowd, "What's the meaning of this?"

A woman wearing a uniform and an eye patch strode through the crowd and stopped in front of Ron and Felix, her dark blue Cavalry uniform coated in perspiration from the fires.

"State your names and your business here in Go City," she ordered angrily.

Ron and Felix exchanged looks and finally Ron said, "I'm Ron Stoppable, this is my friend Felix Renton. We're just passing through on business."

"What sort of business?" the woman asked.

"Personal business," Ron replied cryptically.

The woman strode forward until she was looking up directly at Ron, "We don't like strangers here, as you can see by our little accident we had this morning. Now, would you care to explain?"

Ron shook his head, "We're just passing through, that's all and besides Betty, I'm no stranger to you. Now, we'll need fresh water and supplies, and then we'll be out of your way for good."

The woman smiled a crooked grin and held out her hand expectantly, "If you really mean what you say Ron, you'll hand over your weapons and upon your leaving, you'll get them back."

Ron thought it over and reached for his pistol. Instantly, rifles and pistols appeared in the hands of people in the mob, all trained on him. Moving slowly Ron unholstered his pistol and handed it to Betty.

"I'm sorry," Betty said politely as she grabbed Ron's gun, "We meant all of your weapons...includes bullets too."

Ron unclipped his gun belt and handing the guns to Betty as Felix did the same to a man who suddenly appeared at his horse, snarled, "Fine, you have our weapon now can you get us our stuff?"

The woman and nodded to the man with Felix's weapons, "Cletus here will show you to the blacksmith. Follow him and don't get lost," she retrieved Felix's weapons from Cletus and whispered in his ear as she passed the man, "Stall them for as long as necessary."

Cletus nodded slightly and gestured to Ron and Felix, "Right this way gentlemen."

* * *

"_Josh," Ron pleaded, "Please don't do this."_

"_Sorry Ron. But orders are orders," Josh replied nonchalantly. He turned to an officer and motioned towards the house, "Lars, search the house and bring out anyone you find before you burn it."_

_Lars nodded and motioning to a squad of soldiers entered the house. From inside, the sound of breaking plates and the overturning of chairs resounded._

"_Josh please," Ron was thinking quickly, "Josh, the war's been over for a while now."_

_Josh looked over at the barn as he thought he caught a bit of movement coming from the loft. Motioning to a soldier, Josh pointed at the barn and the soldier took off obediently, "For some Ron, the war will never be over. Is that why you harbored those soldiers last week?"_

"_Our house is open to anyone who asks," Kim replied as she eyed the guards cautiously._

"_Yes, well those men were responsible for the deaths of several men," Josh turned to look at Kim directly, "as punishment, you two will be brought in for punishment and your farm will be burned to the ground."_

_Kim shot Josh a venomous look and hissed, "Josh-" she took a step forward and the remaining soldiers raised their rifles in defense. Backing down, Kim echoed Ron, "Please don't do this."_

_Josh shook his head and motioned towards another group of soldiers, "Arrest Mr. and Mrs. Stoppable for aiding and abetting known fugitives to the law."_

_With perfect coordination, the soldiers surrounded Kim and Ron. A soldier approached Ron and attempted to put handcuffs on him, but Ron lashed out with his fist and caught the soldier directly in the nose. The guard dropped the cuffs and stumbled back while clutching his nose and uttering a stream of curses as blood poured from his face. Ron's foot swung out to kick another guard but the butt of a rifle caught him across the back and drove him to the ground. Four guards pushed him over and held him still as another retrieved the cuffs from the dirt and placed them on Ron's wrist._

_There was a sound of commotion from the barn and the soldier who had been sent to investigate returned, Jon Stoppable in tow. _

_The blood in both Kim and Ron's faces drained as they saw their son held captive and with resignation, turned to Josh, "Please don't hurt our son," Kim pleaded, now desperately trying to get to her son._

"_Sir," the soldier reported, "Found this one in the loft," the soldier yanked on Jon's arm and threw him to the ground, "Seems that he was hiding out and waiting for us to leave before making his escape." _

_Josh nodded distractedly as he saw the contingent led by Lars exit the house. Getting a thumbs up sign from Lars, Josh nodded again and he saw Lars light up a series of torches. Distributing them amongst his soldiers, they proceeded to set the cabin ablaze. Kim, Jon and Ron's eyes both fell in despair as the creak and scream of the wood burning rose and the already searing day grew in temperature._

_Lars and his soldiers all stepped back from the house and assembled behind Josh. The crew traded grins and they smiled as the fire soon spread to the second floor of the house, the roof soon became a raging inferno. The fire licked at the sides of the house and soon, Ron knew that the cabin wouldn't stay up for long. _

_Suddenly, Jon's eyes widened and his head shot up in shock, "Mom?" he asked with a worried tone, "Where's Ana?"_

_The Stoppable's eyes widened and as one turned to the house. The screaming was not from the burning wood, but from the tiny girl still trapped inside the house. _

_With surprising agility, Jon Stoppable knocked the soldier guarding him to the ground and sprinted towards the house. A soldier raised his rifle and taking aim on the young boy, pulled the trigger._

_The bullet slammed into Jon's shoulder and lifted him into the air, spinning around like a top. Landing on the ground, the boy struggled to move but after several seconds of struggle, lay still forever. _

_Josh turned in his saddle and with a malicious look, pulled out his pistol, and shot the man through the throat. Holstering his weapon, he turned just in time to see Kim break free of the soldiers guarding her and Ron to rescue the child still trapped inside the house. Soldiers raised their rifles but remembering what Josh did to the previous soldier who fired, lowered their weapons in unison._

_A contingent of soldiers followed her but fell back at the heat emanating from the house. Ron tried desperately to gain his footing and upon doing so attempted to follow his wife into the house but soldiers held him back._

_A tense few moments played through but finally, the face of Kim appeared in a window on the second floor. Kim held Ana Stoppable in her arms and tried desperately to break a glass window with her hands. However, the smoke had already entered her lungs and she couldn't muster enough strength to break the glass. For one brief second, Kim's eyes locked with Ron's and they shared a final moment on earth together before a final creak resounded and the house collapsed on everyone inside. _

_Ron let out a painful scream and collapsed to his knees in the red dirt. His world was collapsing around him and all that registered was his family's sudden death. _

_Josh's eyes widened in shock at what had just occurred and slipping off his horse walked over to Lars in shock. Grabbing the officer by his uniform straps, Josh screamed at him, "YOU SAID THE HOUSE WAS EMPTY!"_

_Lars just cocked his head, "It's all right Captain. They're only reb supporters."_

_Josh let go of his officer's uniform and stumbled through his soldiers, away from what he'd done. _

_Ron's screaming voice started and followed him off the farm like an evil spirit, "GODDAMN YOU MANKEY! I WILL KILL YOU!! DO YOU HEAR ME? EVEN IF IT TAKES THE REST OF MY LIFE, I WILL KILL YOU!!"_

_Josh didn't answer but continued to stumble off the farm as his soldiers started looting what hadn't been consumed in the fire. In shock he pulled off his hat and let that fall to the ground, the same with his jacket and as Josh passed under the welcoming arch, he didn't even pause to read the sign that now swung lazily by one hinge._

_MIDDLETON FALLS_

* * *

Josh's eyes opened slowly and he groaned softly at the pain racking his head. Smoke swirled around his head and he looked around. He was sitting in a white tent with a single table several feet from him. On the table in a large heap rested his belongings and hanging from a peg on the tent frame hung his jacket. Josh struggled to rise to his feet but found his arms tied to the center pole of the tent. He tried desperately to clear his head and attempted to yank the pole over, but the apart from a bit of minor shaking, the pole remained upright.

Josh snorted and rested his hands on the sandy bottom of the tent. A plan formed in his mind and he smiled as he looked at the floor of the tent. Loose sand lined the floor of the tent and Josh started to desperately dig at the floor.

"I wouldn't do that Josh," a feminine voice called out.

Josh looked up surprised as the woman from the wagon stood before him. Her aquamarine eyes smiling and her cut brown hair swaying loosely in the wind. She wore a crimson dress the only accented her figure and her flawless skin gave her the appearance of an angel. Behind her, standing silently at the door stood the horse and woman. The horse malnourished to the point where you could see the bones without any problem and the wagon looking like it was about the break at the slightest touch, its wooden sides were barely covered in faded paint.

"You see Josh," she commented, "I wouldn't try to escape because Dr. Betty Director is on her way here as we speak and if she sees you leaving, why she'll kill you and we can't have that…yet."

Josh's eyes widened at the mention of the name and the nameless woman chuckled softly at Josh's reaction, "Yeah, she still remembers. Kim was her best friend, even more so than that bumbling fool," she shook her head at the mention of Will and opened her mouth to speak.

"Who are you?" Josh interrupted.

"Who am I?" she asked back playfully, "I don't have time to tell you yet, but I am here to tell you that I still have plans for you and they don't include you dying here."

With that, the woman raised a tiny finger and pointed it at Josh. Josh twitched and the woman laughed as she strode to the table and grabbed the enormous knife. Ambling towards the captive, the woman crouched behind him and started cutting at the ropes binding his hands. The world around Josh suddenly chilled and he shivered involuntarily even though it was over 90 degrees inside the tent. After several seconds of cutting the ropes snapped and Josh brought his hands in front of him. As she sheathed the knife behind Josh's back, she stood to her feet and placed the knife back on the table.

Josh looked at the woman and massaged his wrists gingerly as the woman ordered, "Josh, when the time is right, escape and head east. But do not take the gun offered to you."

Josh scoffed at the woman, "Sure," he said as he held up his hands in front of his face. Looking them over, he commented, "and I'm just going to escape from this town with no one seeing me and without a gun. That's suicide."

"You won't die yet Mankey. I still have plans for you so I'll be watching out for you," the woman chuckled and he looked up.

He was alone. The woman, the horse, all trace of her had vanished into thin air. Only his free hands marked her presence in the tent.

The sound of footsteps filled his ears and Josh quickly put his hands behind him and acted as if he had just woken up as Betty and Will entered the tent.

Josh groaned lazily and looked up at the duo, "Hello there," he said warmly, "What brings you two here today?"

Betty just shot him an icy glare and nodded to Will who kicked Josh in the side. Josh felt the air forced from his lungs and he rolled over onto his side.

He felt two hands on his shoulders and allowed Will to pull him back into the sitting position.

"Mr. Mankey," Betty said emotionlessly, "You are going to be punished for your crimes and as such will be put to death as soon as Mr. Stoppable leaves our camp."

Josh's eyes widened in fear and he fearfully asked, "Ron's here?"

Betty nodded, "Seems you and I share a common fear, Ron," she crouched down until she was face to face with Josh, "If Ron finds you he will kill you and then probably kill me for hiding you."

Josh cocked an eyebrow, "So I guess the plan is I'm to stay quiet while you stall Ron?"

"You catch on quick Mankey," Betty smiled, "Do this and I'll make sure you have a quick and relatively painless death."

Josh rolled his eyes as Betty turned and left the tent. Will stayed behind and waited a few moments before pulling out his gun and crouching in front of Josh. Placing the muzzle between his eyes, Will remarked, "You don't deserve the death Betty's going to give you."

"So you're going to do it," Josh surmised playfully, "how incredibly thoughtful."

Will shrugged, "I figure that I'll be demoted for a month but eventually, Betty is going to need a right hand man and she'll promote me back again."

Josh nodded slowly as Will pulled back the hammer to the gun, "So I'm guessing that you're going to want a few moments of peace before you die, huh?" he asked as he twisted the gun into Josh's skull.

Josh shook his head, "No…" he paused and his eyes took on a distant approach. Refocusing them, Josh looked into Will's brown eyes, "…at least, not yet."

With that, he brought his hands from behind his back and swiftly placed them on opposite sides of Will's head. Before Will could react, Josh twisted his hands and snapped Will's neck.

He was dead before he hit the sand.

Moving quickly, Josh rose to his feet, gathered his gear, refrained from grabbing Will's gun and left the tent. Several minutes later, he had stolen a horse, mounted up and rode east at a fast gallop.

* * *

"Now you see here Ron," Cletus murmured, "Here's your problem, your gun hasn't been cleaned in a while."

Ron raised an eyebrow suggestively at the man seated behind the table in front of him. Ron and Felix had followed Cletus into an old and ramshackle shack that had a crudely painted sign hanging over the doorway that read _Munitions_. Felix had allowed Cletus to check his gun and upon doing so, left to tend the horses.

"And I suppose that you're going to clean it for me?" Ron asked the man.

"Nope," Cletus laughed, "I don't clean people's guns around here. I'm just saying that you'll need to get the gun cleaned for best results."

"Everything up to your standards Ron?" Betty asked as she entered shack.

"No Betty," Ron answered as he grabbed the gun back from Cletus. Twirling it expertly he explained, "I haven't found Josh yet and I know that he's here," he slowly brought the spinning gun to a stop, right between Betty's eyes, "Where is he?" he asked in a grave whisper.

"Josh is here?" Betty asked, feigning ignorance.

Ron pulled back the hammer to the pistol and cocked his head to the side, "Betty, you and I both know that I will pull this trigger. Now, where is he?"

Betty licked her lips nervously and thought over her options. Fortunately, Felix limped back into the room at that second, breathless and covered in sweat. Everyone stared at him expectantly and he smiled, "Ron, check this out."

Felix threw the door behind him open and Ron quickly holstered the gun to look outside. After several seconds of looking around the town, he gave up, "All right Felix, what am I looking at?"

Felix pointed to a dust cloud near a set of cliffs several miles from town, "What do you make that to be?"

Ron shrugged, "A carriage? Wagon train? Who cares?"

Felix continued smiling and pulled out a telescope, "Check this out."

Ron peered into the telescope and did a double take as he saw Josh Mankey galloping away, leaving a trail of dust behind him. Ron continued to follow Josh but lowered the lens as Josh vanished behind a cliff.

Holstering his gun, Ron and Felix dashed for their horses and hopped aboard. Kicking the horses in the sides, the two rode off through town in a mad dash to catch their prey.

* * *

_Clopclopclopclop_

"HIYAH!" Josh screamed as he kicked his horse in the side, heedless of the pain he was causing his horse. All that mattered was getting as far away from Go City as possible.

The horse neighed in pain but pressed on at the kicking by Josh and the threat of spurs that Josh had fastened to his boots. Sweat poured from the animal's body and the horse tried to slow down but another kick by Josh told the animal to go faster.

What happened next caught Josh by surprise. One second he was galloping to freedom, the next he was flying through the air and finally, he was on his back looking up at wispy clouds swirling around in the clear blue sky of early afternoon.

For a second he couldn't breathe and he feared that the animal had somehow killed him. However, he had only knocked the wind out of his lungs and just needed a second to recover. The horse however was not so lucky. The once beautiful horse now lay twitching on the ground, it's panting slowing until finally stopping completely and with a final twitch the horse lay still, dead as the grass surrounding him. Josh looked to the sky in frustration and carefully weighed his options. Pushing his battered body to its feet, Josh felt his body creak and pop as he straightened. Looking back to Go City, Josh cursed at the twin dust columns approaching him.

There was only one person it could be and Josh knew that he had no time to waste as a plan formed in his mind. Turning around, Josh looked at the dead carcass of the horse and slowly pulled out his knife. Advancing slowly on the dead horse, Josh set about in his grisly task.

* * *

Ron and Felix slowed to a trot as they approached the cliffs. The cliffs made for a perfect ambush and they didn't want to be caught off guard. As they approached a blind corner, a stench of rotting meat filled their noses and they both gagged.

"Jeez Ron," Felix coughed, "This is worse than Motor Ed."

"I know, something died here a while ago," Ron answered as he put a hand over his nose. Suddenly he stopped and pulled out his gun, "Check your gun," he ordered.

Felix snorted, "Why? You don't trust Betty?"

"No," Ron answered as he popped out the chamber of his gun and cursed. His entire bullet supply was gone. Cletus must've taken the bullets out when he cleaned their guns. Ron cursed himself for falling for such a stupid trick.

Felix popped open the side of his pistol and stared in shock, "How…?"

Ron shrugged, "When they cleaned our guns."

"But why?" Felix asked as he searched his saddlebags for ammunition.

"Betty has wanted to kill Josh ever since she heard about what he did," Ron said as he too looked for bullets. Not finding any, he cursed again, "if she can't have him, we can't have him."

"So we're going against a guy with no ammo?" Felix asked.

"No," Ron smiled as he pulled out a single bullet that Betty had forgotten to steal, "I've got one left for our boy."

"Great," Felix muttered as holstered his weapon, "if he attacks us I can call him bad names to distract him."

Ron kicked Rufus in the sides and the horse moved forward, "He doesn't know that we're out of ammo, which gives us the advantage."

As the two rounded the corner, they both stopped suddenly and stared at the carnage that lay before them.

Josh's horse lay on its side, an enormous slit down the middle of it. That was the only normal part of the scene. Surrounding the steed were its entrails, its insides lay scattered about as if a beast had pulled them out and flung them around. Bits of muscle and tissue hung from surrounding bushes and plants and already vultures were circling overhead. Ron and Felix's horses were both spooked and Ron patted Rufus calmly on the neck before nudging him forward.

Approaching the dead carcass, Felix turned to Ron in shock and asked, "What animal did this?"

Ron shook his head and whispered, "This wasn't an animal. Josh did this."

"But why?" Felix answered. He pointed beyond the horse at a series of footprints, "see? His tracks go towards the salt flats. If we hurry, we can catch him."

Ron shook his head, "No Felix, Josh is here…somewhere."

Felix looked around, "Where?"

Ron shrugged his shoulders, "Probably hiding out behind a rock outcropping. But I need you to check the horse. See if he left any clues there."

Felix opened his mouth to say something but Ron shook his head. Sighing, Felix hopped off his horse and landed on the ground with a _step-thump._

Both men pulled out their guns and aimed at the cliffs surrounding them.

_Step-thump_

Felix advanced on the horse and noticed a piece of blue hidden behind the horse. With a grin, Felix cocked his pistol and took another step to the horse.

_Step-thump_

Felix had finally made it to the horse and peered over the side at the blue. He pulled at the blue and was rewarded with the saddle blanket coming back in his hands. He turned around to face Ron.

_Step-thump_

"Ron," Felix began, "There's nothing here. Just-"

With a feral cry, the form of Josh Mankey burst from slit in the horse's stomach and pulled his knife. Holding it up to Felix's throat Josh kept Felix between Ron and himself.

Ron slid off his saddle and pulled his pistol. Aiming it at Josh, Ron called out, "You can't win Mankey."

"Please," Josh yelled back, "The war's over. Let it go."

"For some it will never be over," remarked Ron as he lined up a shot, "sound familiar?"

Josh nodded sadly and opened his mouth to speak but a gunshot suddenly resounded throughout the cliffs.

**BOOM**

Josh jumped back, feeling the killing bullet hiss past his ear. Josh let go of Felix who stumbled around as he looked for the source of the gunshot. Not seeing the shooter in the cliffs, Josh turned back to Ron only to find the barrel of his gun smoking.

Josh's eyes flicked around the area as he saw Felix continuing to stumble and gurgle about, a bullet hole through his neck. With a final gurgle, Felix dropped to his knees and fell to the ground. He mustered the strength to roll onto his back, before a final gurgle and he lay still.

Ron hadn't moved at all during the exchange and now that Felix had stopped moving, advanced on Josh.

Seeing no other option, Josh dropped to his knees and closed his eyes, a single tear rolling down his cheek, "I'm sorry Ron. Truly I am."

Ron didn't say a word but instead walked up to Josh and pressed the still warm barrel against his skull. He eyed Josh one last time before pulling the hammer back and pulling the trigger.

**Click**

Josh's eyes snapped open and he looked up as the shock of the empty gun resounded through both Ron and Josh. With a quick movement, Josh knocked Ron's legs out from under him, knocking Ron onto his back with a loud _WHUMPH._

Josh was instantly poised over Ron, the knife less than a quarter inch from his eye, "I can't make you forgive me Ron, but please stop following me."

Ron didn't answer so Josh leaned down and hissed, "Next time I see you, I will kill you."

"Just like you did my family?" Ron spat.

Josh bit his lip until blood flowed freely and after a moment of contemplation, punched Ron squarely in the face with his bad arm. Groaning, Josh spun the blade around and knocked Ron in the forehead with the knife's handle, instantly knocking the blonde haired man out.

Josh looked around slowly until his eyes fell to Rufus who had stayed still during this whole ordeal. Climbing to his feet, Josh removed a canteen of water from Ron's horse and tossed it to the still unconscious man. Seeing Felix's horse still standing there, Josh slapped the horse on the behind and the horse ran back toward Go City.

Kicking Rufus lightly in the sides, Josh rode away from the still bodies of Ron and Felix towards a long hill and as he crested that final hill, he stopped in amazement as stretched out before him, shimmering like a mirage, lay the great salt flats of Utah. He nudged Rufus forward, onto the plains and the horse obediently followed its new master's command.

* * *

Felix awoke with a start and sat up quickly. He looked around slowly and felt around his body experimentally, looking for any injuries. The sun's position told him that it was roughly three o'clock in the afternoon and Felix wondered how long he'd been out. A few meters from him lay Ron who was slowly stirring and groaning about his head.

Seeing his friend, Felix pulled himself easily to his feet and called out, "Ron, what happened?"

Ron didn't answer, but instead grabbed up the canteen and looked at Josh's trail leading up the hill. Without a word, he slung the canteen across his shoulders and started after Josh.

Felix waited until he was out of earshot before remarking, "I'll just stay here, will I?"

"I think not Mr. Renton," a feminine voice called out.

Felix turned as a brown haired woman on a wagon rode towards him, "Who are you?" Felix asked.

The woman laughed and scooted over in her seat, gesturing for Felix to join herm "_Moi_?" she asked in mock innocence.

"Yeah," Felix said, not moving.

"I have many names Felix Renton," the woman answered, "but right now, all I care about is a Mr. Felix Renton."

Felix reacted slightly, "Why?"

"Simple Felix," the woman answered as she pointed behind him, "you're dead and I'm here to take you with me."

Felix's eyes widened as he saw his dead body lying on the ground behind him, a single bullet hole through the neck, "Betrayed and shot through the neck by your best friend. That's a not new one to me, but nevertheless, it saddens me to see it," the woman remarked, her aquamarine eyes glinting in the afternoon sun, "Now Felix, I have a list here that says you belong to me and to be quite honest, I'm in no mood to wait for you."

Felix turned to her in shock, "So I'm dead?"

The woman nodded, her brown hair falling into her eyes, "Now you're getting it."

"And you're here to collect my soul?" Felix asked.

"Yep," she answered as she hopped off her wagon and started walking toward Felix with a certain and uncanny grace, the world behind her slowly losing color.

"Are you an angel?" Felix asked as the world surrounding him began to fade into black and white.

"Me," the woman stopped and peered at him quizzically, "I was an angel once."

"Once?" Felix asked, taking a step backwards.

"Yes, a long time ago," the woman said, suddenly appearing behind Felix. Placing two hands on his shoulders and kissing him softly on the neck, Felix felt his body go cold and stiff despite the 90-degree temperature as she whispered in his ear and his world became black and white, "My name is Madam Louise C. Ferr. But you can call me Bonnie."

* * *

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kim Possible or any thing else belonging to Disney.

**Author's Notes:** Well the second to last chapter is done, and the final flashback behind this story as well, now we move on to the inevitable confrontation that is our finale, hopefully you'll stick around for it. I want to thank all those who reviewed, Sakura999, Stubbs101, and Kwebs. You three really made my day by reviewing, so thank you. Also thanks to you guys who have decided to check this story out and add it to your alerts/favorites.

Oh, lest I forget, 10 TRS points, which are worth absolutely nothing anywhere, if you can catch the real meaning behind Bonnie's name.


	6. Face To Face

_God,_ Ron thought as he jogged through the white salt of Utah's Salt Flats, the canteen flopping around wildly on his back, _it's hot out here._

Actually, hot wasn't even close to describing how Ron felt at that moment. The word "hot" implied a chance at shade, but out here there wasn't even a bush to hide under. He ran beneath a clear blue sky that seemed to magnify the heat and the ground seemed to radiate the heat back up to the sky. In other words, it was a completely deserted and arid environment. Only the white salt stretched out before him and lay behind him. In the distance, a tall range of mountains sat and on top of those mountains did sit some snow, but with each passing step, Ron felt like those mountains were traveling farther away from him. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder and noticed the desert that he had come from was gone. Only the white salt and the sound of his labored breathing kept him company.

"_Ron?"_ a feminine voice asked, jolting him from his trance.

Ron looked around for the voice that seemed eerily familiar but didn't stop running.

"_Ron?"_ the voice persisted.

He stopped running and spun around, looking for any hint as to where the voice might be coming from. He kept spinning, looking for something, some indication as to what he needed to be doing…

* * *

"_Ron?" Kim asked Ron as they sat on their porch, overlooking their farm. _

_The sun had set hours ago and the kids had been put to bed just a few hours ago. Now Ron and Kim sat staring off into the night sky, their only company was the fireflies and crickets. _

"_Hmm?" Ron asked sleepily._

"_Do you love me?" Kim asked as she turned to face him._

_Ron nodded and kissed her softly on the cheek, "You know I do Kim."_

_She smiled morosely and peered beyond his eyes, "Would you stay with me, even if I did something bad to you?"_

_Ron looked at her and with hesitation asked, "What are you trying to tell me Kim?"_

_She looked away sadly and thought for a few moments before speaking, "Jim sent me a letter today."_

"_Oh that's great," Ron said enthusiastically. _

"_No Ron," Kim explained, "It's not."_

_Ron shook his head, "I don't understand."_

"_Ron," a sigh, "Jim's getting orders to bring us in for helping out those Confederate soldiers."_

"_How could he possibly know?" Ron asked._

"_Barkin slipped him the information," Kim said as she pulled the letter from her dress pocket, "Barkin wants us to make a run for it. Head out west, set up in Go City and help out Betty with operations out there."_

_Ron shook his head, "No, I will not be…run from my farm just for helping out people in need. It's not right and we need to make a stand."_

"_Ron," Kim sighed before chuckling and playing with his hair, "you never did know when to let go."_

* * *

"_Ron?"_ the voice asked again and this time Ron saw a person standing before him.

Kim Stoppable, his wife was standing before him in a light blue dress with her arms outstretched, _"Ron, what are you doing?"_

Ron's eyes widened and he looked at her in wonderment, a smile gracing his face "K…Kim?"

She didn't smile but motioned back the way he came,_ "Please, let it go Ron…Please."_

Ron shook his head and peered at the horizon towards a speck that he knew to be Josh, "Sorry Kim, but I'm doing this for you."

Not bothering to hear her response, he slung the canteen over his shoulder and started running after Josh again. Kim stood in the same spot and a single tear coursed down her cheek.

"See Kim?" Bonnie said as she appeared next to the apparition of Kim, "you were given your chance…now it's my turn, and believe me, it'll mean the world for me to separate you two for eternity."

Kim just stared at her running husband and shook her head, "No…he's different. I know him."

Bonnie just laughed and patted Kim on the back, "We'll see Kim…we'll see."

* * *

Rufus neighed in protest as he walked along the salt. The heat was taking the worst toll on him and without a watering hole, Rufus would probably be dead within the hour.

Josh knew this and prayed that he'd find water or a way off these flats before that hour ended.

He turned back in his saddle to peer at the horizon and saw the shimmering shape of Ron on the horizon. If anything, it looked like Ron was actually gaining even though Josh was on the horse. He thought about forcing Rufus into a trot but knew that that would only kill the horse and he couldn't have that, not yet anyway.

"You know," a woman's voice, the same woman who helped him escape, called out "A man could die out here if he's not careful."

Josh didn't even turn, but felt Rufus come to a stop.

Josh continued to stare at the horizon, at Ron's approaching form and asked the woman, "Can I ask you a question?"

He heard the woman chuckle softly and reply, "By all means Josh, ask away."

"Who are you and why are you helping me?" Josh asked as he turned to face her.

Sitting calmly in front of him like it had always been there, sat the woman and her wagon that sold snake oil. The horse appeared even scrawnier in the sun but for some reason no sweat appeared on its body.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Josh," the woman started, "but that's two questions."

With a growl, Josh dismounted from Rufus and stormed towards the woman, "That's another thing, how do you know my name? I mean you must know a great deal about me and you must care for me seeing as you gave me the means and the tools to escape Go City."

The woman laughed and pulled a water bag from inside the wagon. Taking a drink, she put a cap back on and tossed it to Josh who caught it and held it cautiously, "All right Josh," the woman said, he cocked her head to one side, "Happy now?"

"No," Josh answered and took a drink from the pouch, the cool water instantly quenched the thirst in this throat and he drank from it greedily, "You haven't told me your name or why you're here. All you did was throw me some water."

"Hmmm…so ungrateful, but then again, that's what I love about you," the woman closed her eyes in pleasure for a moment before continuing, " The reason that I've been looking out for all this time you is that you're one of my favorite children and I like to watch over those that are my favorites."

Now it was Josh's turn to cock his head to one side, "What do you mean?"

"Simple Josh," she smiled, "I've been watching and waiting for you ever since Middleton Falls. Waiting for this moment. Preparing my welcome for you, tasting it, savoring the feeling, loving all the work that you've been doing to get here."

Josh eyed her skeptically and she laughed, "I know that you think I'm crazy but I assure you that I'm perfectly sane."

"Fine then," Josh said disbelieving, "Then you can tell me your name and not change the subject."

The woman smiled and sighed, "Can't change your mind, can I?"

Josh shook his head, not smiling, "No."

She nodded and slid off her wagon and started walking towards Josh with a certain and uncanny grace, "My name is Madam Louise C. Ferr, but you can call me Bonnie."

Josh snorted as Bonnie approached him, "Right, because those names are related to each other."

Now it was her turn to laugh, "You'd be surprised."

Suddenly, Josh's eyes widened as a clue in his mind fell into place, "Now you've got it," Bonnie whispered, suddenly appearing behind him, "I had to give you the last clue, but now you've got it."

"Y…you're…you're…th-th-th-" Josh lurched forward, away from Bonnie and he held out a pointing finger.

"It's OK Josh," Bonnie laughed darkly, "You can say it…the…?"

"Louise C. Ferr," Josh whispered, not believing the words leaving his mouth, "L-L-Lucifer. You're the devil."

Bonnie held up her hands and clapped softly, "Very good Josh."

Josh turned to run but found Bonnie right behind him. He looked behind him, but the arid desert was empty, "Going somewhere my child?" she asked dangerously.

"Away from you!" Josh yelled and spun around. Bonnie stood there with the wagon behind her, "Josh, I can do this all day. The question is, can you before Ron catches you?"

Josh tried to pull out his knife to defend himself, but found the blade stuck in the sheath, "What's wrong Joshie?" she chortled, "You honestly expect to hurt me with a tiny knife like that?"

Josh didn't answer as Bonnie took the tiniest of steps towards him, "How dare you raise a finger against me," she hissed angrily, "After I saved your life all those times."

Josh took an involuntary step backwards, "Aside from the camp, I haven't seen you anywhere."

Bonnie shook her head in frustration and stalked towards him as Josh's world started reverting to black and white and the air surrounding him mysteriously turned cold, "Who do you think it was that caused the bullet to strike you in the shoulder when it should've been in the heart? Who do you think caused that bear trap trick of yours to work? What do you think it was that caused Shego to break down and cry instead of shooting you in the heart? I rescued you at the camp and allowed you to escape," she paused to take a breath, "And just an hour ago I deflected the bullet's path so it would only strike Felix and miss you. Then I caused Ron's rage to cloud his judgment and make him forget that he had used his only bullet. I've saved your life so many times it shocks me how you even made it to Middleton Falls and beyond."

Josh thought back to all his near death experiences these last few days and asked, "Why me?"

Satan shrugged, "What you did at Middleton Falls really impressed me and ever since then, you've been running from the blame. Who else would not take responsibility for their actions and just run? Only you."

Josh's world had now been reduced to black, white and gray and his breath came out in clouds of steam, "I'm a different man now, I asked Shego to kill me."

Bonnie shook her head and said matter-of-factly, "No Josh, you didn't. You screamed in her face until I broke her."

"So everything…" he looked her dead in the eye.

Bonnie smiled and nodded, "Pretty much."

"So what do you want with me now?" Josh asked nervously.

"Simple," Bonnie answered and pulled a pistol from her dress. Putting a single bullet into the chamber, she twirled it slowly around her small fingers before offering it to Josh, "I want you to kill Ron."

Josh spat on the ground, the spit freezing before shattering on the ground, "Do it yourself Satan."

He turned around to leave, only to find a very angry Bonnie standing before him. Her once aquamarine eyes had now gone red and Josh struggled to move but found himself unable to, "Now you listen her Monkey boy," Bonnie hissed and poked him hard in the chest, "I bought you, paid for you and now I'm going to use you."

"No," Josh shook his head defiantly, "I'm not gonna."

"Fine," Bonnie snarled, "Don't do it," she gestured towards the speck that had grown larger during their conversation, "See what I care. Ron will come here and kill you…" she paused as a smile appeared on her face, "Ron will come here and kill you, then with nothing left to live for, he'll kill himself. Two for the price of one…I'll take it."

Josh looked at the approaching form of Ron and looked around desperately before settling on Bonnie, "But I only have a knife."

Bonnie smiled and walked away from Josh, "So you'll go for it?"

Josh thought carefully for a few seconds before nodding, "Yes."

Grabbing Rufus by the reigns, Bonnie pulled him along softly and tied him to the back of the wagon. Hopping back on board, Bonnie pulled out the pistol and threw it towards Josh's feet before calling out, "Pistol for the horse. Good luck Josh."

Josh bent down to pick up the pistol and when he looked up, he was alone. The pistol was the only record of Bonnie's passing.

* * *

The tiny speck in the distance that Ron assumed to be Josh was growing larger by the second. For some reason he appeared to be standing there, not moving, but instead looking and reacting to something that wasn't there. After several minutes of standing there, Rufus walked away from Josh and slowly vanished from the landscape. Ron paused his running only to stop and grab a tiny drink of water from his almost empty canteen. Slinging it over his back again, Ron looked up to find a woman on a horse drawn wagon standing before him. The side of the wagon reading _Snake Oil For Sale._

"You know, a man could die out here," the woman laughed.

Ron ignored her but started to jog past her. However he stopped as she started speaking again, "What troubles me Ron is that you want to go kill Josh Mankey, but apart from your hands, you have no weapons."

Ron slowly turned to her and spoke with chapped lips and ignoring the fact that she knew his name asked, "What are you saying?"

"Simple Ron," the woman pulled a pistol from beneath her bench and held it out to Ron, "A pistol for your canteen."

Ron unslung the canteen from his back and took a final swig from it. Putting the cap back on, he heard a bit of water swishing around inside and offered it to the woman, "it's not like I'm getting out of here alive anyway." He grabbed the gun from the woman and checked the chamber.

"One bullet?" he asked.

"More than enough to do the job," She smiled softly, her aquamarine eyes glowing with delight as she flicked the horse's reigns in her hands and the wagon pulled forward slowly, "If you hurry you can catch Josh."

_Please don't do this Ron,_ echoed through his mind and Ron looked around in confusion.

"Kim?" he called out.

Bonnie looked over his shoulder and called out, "You had your turn and I'm having my. Stay out of it."

Ron looked where the strange woman was looking but there was nothing there. Shaking his head, Ron turned back to Josh who still appeared to be standing in the same place and started to chase the man.

_You always have a choice Ron,_ the voice of Kim echoed through his mind, _Please, let me go._

* * *

"That was cheating and you know it," Bonnie said to Kim as she pulled her wagon to a stop.

Kim merely glowered at Bonnie and replied, "He won't do it."

Bonnie smiled and hopped from her wagon, "Yes, I know. But Josh is another story entirely."

Kim nodded slowly and looked at her husband chasing after Josh and asked, "Now what?"

Bonnie continued smiling, "Now we wait."

* * *

The salt flats never ended, they just stretched on for miles and miles. Throwing a look over his shoulder, Josh knew that Ron was gaining on him and he tried to go faster.

It began as a mild pain, but soon Josh's shoulder was burning as if someone had opened the bullet wound again, but upon inspection, the wound was sealed. Josh gasped weakly as the pain grew in intensity and without a way to stop the pain, he could only scream and push through it.

Ron was watching Josh as he grew ever closer. Josh had slowed to nearly a walk but still Ron ran to catch up.

The sun shown through the clear blue skies, causing the temperatures to soar in excess of one hundred degrees and without a wind to cool one down, it felt as if one was treading in the very face of hell itself.

Still they ran.

"JOSH! STOP!" Ron called out and just like that, the pain in Josh's shoulder vanished.

Josh stopped and slowly turned to face Ron. Ron had drawn his pistol and sighted down the barrel unsteadily. Josh looked at Ron in admiration, he had closed the distance between the two so that there was less than fifteen feet between them with nothing to get in his way.

Seeing Josh standing there, Ron slowly put his pistol back in the holster and calmly said to Josh, "Are you ready?"

Josh shook his head, "No Ron. I don't want to do this…" Josh paused, "Please, we don't have to do this."

Ron twitched for a second before answering, "Someone has to pay for what you did to Kim. Now get ready."

Josh sighed and arranged the pistol given to him by Bonnie in its holster, "Is there another way?"

Ron shook his head as Josh put his hand next to the gun holster and waited.

Silence pervaded on the two as they both stood and waited for the other to move. Both lost in the memories of the past…

_Kim and Ron standing in front of a barren piece of land while holding a piece of paper…building a house that almost everyone from town had worked on…the birth of Jon Stoppable…the war that Josh knew the Stoppables hadn't participated in …_Josh recalled all the memories that he had experienced with Kim and Ron and knew immediately what it was that he had to do. Josh closed his eyes in meditation and for the first time in his life, he genuinely prayed.

_Please, let me go Ron,_ Kim whispered in Ron's ear, begging him to reconsider, _You're better than this._

_Don't listen to her Ron,_ Bonnie whispered in his other ear, _Look what Josh did to you and your family. Look at what he did to Kim. He deserves…no he needs to die._

Kim whispered back in Ron's ear, _Ron I know you want this, please don't do this._

Bonnie smiled as Ron's fingers twitched next to the pistol, _That's right Ron, give up on all that you've done. You've lost friends, you've lost your family and now that you have the chance to get your revenge let him walk away._

Kim kissed Ron softly on the cheek, _Ron, I know the man I married, what he's made of and I know that you will not do this. Please…stop killing for me. _

Both voices faded away into the desert and left Ron alone with his thoughts. After thinking for a few seconds, Ron brought his pistol up and out of it's holster. Aiming it at him and lining up the shot, Ron hesitated before pulling the trigger.

**BOOM**

Josh slowly opened his eyes. On the ground before him lay Ron, the pistol out of his reach and before Josh's eyes, the pistol withered and convulsed on the salt as if it were a living thing. With a hissing sound, the pistol turned to smoke and evaporated under the never ending sun.

Josh slowly walked over to Ron and kneeling next to Ron who had been blown backward from the force of the gunshot.

A single tear coursing down his cheek, Josh took his gun out of its holster and placed it in Ron's hands.

"You missed," Josh whispered and guided the gun in Ron's hand until it was pressed against the bottom of his chin. Another tear coursed its way down his cheek.

Ron looked shocked at this turn of events and looked at Josh quizzically. But seeing the look in Josh's eyes, he pulled back the hammer to the pistol, before tightening his finger around the trigger.

"I want you to know that I never intended for Kim or your family to be harmed," Josh said softly, "I was only following orders and she wasn't meant to be hurt."

Ron shook his head as doubt began filling it, "There hasn't been a day that's gone by where I don't think about what I've done and then try to kill myself."

"What stops you?" whispered Ron sadly.

Josh thought for a moment and closed his eyes, "Knowing that it should be you to kill me."

Ron shook in pain and sadness and tried to pull the trigger but his finger wouldn't respond.

"I just want you to know how incredibly sorry I am," Josh said, "Now I want you to kill me. Please."

Ron cocked his head quizzically at Josh's request. It wasn't the a cocky or arrogant request that Josh was making. The kind of request that he had made while screaming at Shego, instead Josh was pleading…begging…longing to die.

The gun in Ron's hand shook and with a final sigh, he pulled the trigger.

**BOOM**

Josh jerked involuntarily and opened his eyes in shock as he stared down at Ron who still held the gun. The barrel still smoked but was pointed up in the sky away from Josh instead.

Josh looked down at Ron but moved back as Ron sat up, a faint bit of color returning to his skin, "Why?" Josh asked.

"Because she wouldn't want me to," Ron replied before laboriously pushing his broken body to its feet.

With a sigh, Ron looked over the pistol in his hand and dropped it to the ground where it bounced and came to rest amid the salt. Walking past Josh, Ron started stumbling back to _Go City_ and hopefully a new life.

Josh looked after Ron and stood to his feet. Pulling his knife from its sheath, he dropped it to the ground where it stuck in the salt next to the knife. Looking at the knife a final time, Josh thought about all he had done with that knife and prayed. When he had finished, he looked to some mountains in the distance and began following Ron back to _Go City_. Soon the two men's shapes disappeared amongst the heat waves generated by the flats.

* * *

The two weapons remained lodged in the salt flats even as night fell, however two women stood there, still standing in shock at the events they had witnessed.

"B-but Josh…" Bonnie stammered.

Kim smiled wistfully and looked at Bonnie, "People do have some capacity for good you know."

"It's not fair," Bonnie said angrily.

"You want to argue with-"

"IT'S NOT FAIR! HE SHOULD HAVE KILLED HIM!" Bonnie screamed before turning to dust and vanishing from the plains.

Kim looked skyward for a few seconds, before whispering, "Thank you."

Kim looked back down at the weapons and continued to stare at the weapons for several more minutes until it was completely dark out. Looking around the plains that had fallen cold, Kim willed herself to _Go City_ where Ron had just fallen asleep in a motel room.

Ron lay flat on the bed, snoring softly as Kim appeared in a chair on the far side of the room. She had loved watching him sleep when she was alive and being dead had no difference on her feelings.

It began slowly at first but Ron started muttering and whispering in his sleep, "Kim? Kim? Where are you?"

Kneeling next to the bed, Kim placed a kiss on his cheek and whispered in his ear, _"Shhh, I'm right here Ron."_

He calmed down and sighed softly, as she crawled over him and lay on top of the covers next to him. She stroked his head and face softly, restoring him before falling asleep herself.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Kim Possible. Disney does and I happen to write about it.

**Author's Notes:** Well now it's over. Almost. I still have to write the epilogue and then it'll be over completely. Hope I didn't offend any of you with Bonnie, but it's a theme that I've been building up towards since the start of the story. Special thanks to RSfan, Stubbs101, CajunBear73, and Kwebs for reviewing. It really helps me to continue writing the story if I see those. As always, leave a review and get a response.


	7. A Small Measure of Peace

Betty looked at the closed door before her and asked the hotel manager standing next to her, "Are you sure this is the room?"

The manager nodded fearfully, "Yes, Ron Stoppable checked into this room last night and has not been out for the last fifteen hours."

Betty nodded and looked back at the door, pondering what to do. After minutes of contemplation she brought a closed fist up to the door and was about to knock when she noticed the manager still standing there.

"Anything else?" she asked tersely.

He shook his head and beat a hasty retreat, desperate to get back to his customers who would pay better than Betty ever would.

Betty waited until the sound of his shuffling was gone and turned back to the door. Sighing she raised her fist again and knocked softly on the door.

_Knock Knock Knock_

Nothing.

She knocked again and was rewarded with the sound of something scraping along the ground. There was a fumbling noise and a curse near the door and Betty stood back as the door opened to her.

Ron Stoppable stood in the door jam, covered in dust and sunburned tremendously. His skin was beyond a light pink but instead had jumped directly to beet red. He ran a hair through his sun-bleached hair, a cloud of dust erupted from his hair and caused her to retreat while coughing.

"What is it Betty?" Ron asked politely.

Betty stopped her coughing and stared at him in shock, "What is it?" Ron nodded innocently, causing Betty to lose her composure for a few brief seconds. Finally she regained her thoughts and stammered, "Well the hotel manager calls me up and says that you've been in this room for over fifteen hours. And there's been no sign of Josh or Felix-"

Ron looked behind him at the windows filled with sunlight and commented, "Wow…fifteen hours? That's got to be a record or something…"

Betty looked flabbergasted, "What?! I ask you about Josh and Felix and all you can do is comment on the amount of time you were asleep?!"

Ron looked at her softly for a few moments before nodding, "Yeah…yeah I can."

Betty shook her head again, "You show up in my town, ride off to kill Josh and only you return. What happened?"

Ron continued to stare at Betty and held out his hands apologetically, "Felix died and then I killed Josh. He's dead now and is probably just a bit of bones on the salt flats."

Betty looked at Ron, disbelieving his every word but something inside her told her to accept it, "But…aren't you, you know…angry?"

Ron looked away and nodded, "I was, but it's not worth it Betty," he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Let it go."

Betty looked Ron dead in the eye and was startled to find a calmness and serenity behind those eyes. She looked deeper before asking, "How can you?"

Ron shrugged, "What's done is done and I believe Josh when he says it was an accident. I know that I'll see my wife and kids later so what else is there to do?"

With that, Ron backed away from the door and slowly closed it on Betty. Just before the door latched shut, Betty placed a hand on the wood and forced it open, "Where is Josh? Really?"

Ron laughed softly and gestured around the room, "I told you, he's dead."

"I know you better than that Ronald," Betty said, "I know that you are horrible at lying, now where is he?"

Ron smiled knowingly, "I told you, he's dead."

Betty sighed and allowed Ron to close the door, just as it was about to latch shut, she heard him speak, "but if he was still alive…I hope he's found a small measure of peace…"

* * *

"Ring around the Rosies, pocket full of posies," the little girls sang loudly as they danced in a circle near the waterfall, "Ashes, ashes, we all fall down," with that, the girls collapsed to the ground, giggling and laughing as they enjoyed playing together.

"Monique, Zita," Tara called out to her girls as the sun started to set, "It's time for dinner."

The girls groaned loud enough for Tara to hear and she yelled back, "Get in here now or I'm going to feed your dinner to the horse. Maybe he'll like it."

The girls looked at each other in shock and scrambled over each other in a mad dash to make it to the table on time. The girls finally made it to the table where Tara sat with a steaming plate of food for everyone and a smile on her face.

"So you decided to join me for dinner?" she asked as she held out her hands expectantly. She nodded to her oldest daughter and asked, "Monique, would you do the honors?"

Monique nodded and bowed her head, "Dear Jesus-"

"Man," Zita said loudly.

Tara looked up sharply and slapped Zita's hand, "Zita, I told you that you need to stop interrupting the prayers just to be funny."

Zita held her slapped hand but pointed out to the plains, "No look, a man is coming."

Tara and Monique both turned to see where Zita pointed and saw that Zita was right, "Holy…it is a man," Tara said softly.

Monique peered at the stranger and asked, "Do we know them?"

Tara shook her head and reached for a gun hanging over the fireplace, "No, but if we…" she trailed off as she saw the man trip and clutch at his arm.

In a second, the pieces fell into place and Tara whispered, "It's Josh."

Placing the gun down on the table, Tara left Zita and Monique still sitting at the table as their Mother ran towards Josh at breakneck speeds.

* * *

Josh had long debated coming back here, but knew that it was the best course he could take. To live with a woman he knew would love him and maybe retain some of his humanity, Josh could think of no better way to live out his remaining days.

When he saw Tara bolt from the cabin towards him, Josh smiled and started running towards her, favoring his arm, but still going as fast as he could.

They ran into each other's arms and started kissing passionately beneath the sunset laced sky. Nothing else mattered to them but the one across from them and after several minutes of kissing, they broke away from each other and Josh started to speak, "Tara…I"

Tara placed a finger on his lips and replied, "I don't want to hear it. All I want is for you to come home."

Josh looked back at the cabin where the heads of Monique and Zita peeked around the doorframe, "Home?" he asked and looked uncertain.

Tara nodded and kissed him a final time, "Yes, Josh. Welcome home."

**The End**

* * *

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Kim Possible, Disney does. Also, to protect the ending, I have not said my inspiration for this story, but it was the movie _Seraphim Falls_. So I also do not own that movie, it is on my "to buy list" but I have not done so yet.

**Author's Notes:**So this is it. The end of my western. Sorry to those of you who read this on Saturday, it wasn't supposed to be posted until Monday but I pressed the wrong button. I hope you all enjoy this epilogue now. Special thanks to everyone who read and reviewed this story, CajunBear73, Kwebs, RSfan, Dutchman, Sakura999, Mengsk, KarenStern05 and Stubbs101. You guys all rock hardcore for reviewing. In addition, a special thanks to Mace Ecam for issuing this challenge on the KP forums to write a western. I hope ya'all liked it, I know that I sure did. Moreover, thanks to those of you who did know the ending before hand and did not say anything.


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